Sonny days in Toronto forecast
Marquee acquisition Sonny Bill Williams explains why he’s sold on the Wolfpack,
LONDON— Sonny Bill Williams says he welcomes the pressure that comes with the worldwide attention surrounding his signing with the Toronto Wolfpack.
The All Blacks rugby star, whose two-year contract with Toronto was announced a week ago, was unveiled at a news conference Thursday at Emirates Stadium, home to the storied Arsenal soccer club.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Williams said. “This deal came to fruition in quite a short space of time … I’m really grateful and blessed for this opportunity, but I understand what I’m coming into. But as a sportsman what better, I guess, pressure environment would you want to test yourself (in)?
“It’s great what Toronto (has) done, where they’re based, what they’re trying to achieve … It all kind of lined up. For me as a man of faith, I just really believe that it’s just meant to be.”
He said he embraces the Wolfpack’s mission to open up North America to rugby league.
“Throughout my career, I’ve gotten the best out of myself when I’ve really believed the purpose of what the organization’s trying to achieve,” he said.
Williams, who met his new teammates at the Wolfpack training camp Wednesday, has been compared to David Beckham and LeBron James as game-changers in the sport. The 34-year-old Williams, who is switching back from rugby union to rugby league, downplayed such comparisons.
“The way I look at it is me as Muslim, as a man of faith, I bring that into my sporting journey — it’s everything is glass half-full … If you look at things glass half-full, nothing’s a failure, everything is a learning experience.”
Wolfpack coach Brian McDermott said the Wolfpack were getting more than a world-class international player.
“The guy’s a brand and he’s been building that brand up for a number of years,” he said. “I think the thing for me that I would like to stress to the room first and foremost is I was really keen to get the player. We as a club are going to use that brand, utilize that brand for sure, in terms of making the profile of Toronto Wolfpack and ultimately Super League bigger, it’s going to help that.”
McDermott flew out to Japan to have dinner with Williams during the recent Rugby World Cup. The dinner came after England had beaten New Zealand in the semifinals.
“I think we both knew that night that this could be good,” said McDermott, a former England and Great Britain international who coached Leeds Rhinos before helping Toronto earn promotion in October to the top-tier Super League.
The Toronto coach said he had one overriding question: “Are you coming to be a player?” McDermott said Williams told him: “I need to earn the respect of everybody at the club before I start being what you think you’ve signed on.”
Williams said a meal that was to have taken 30-40 minutes lasted two hours.
“We’re really pleased, excited. He’s going on a journey with us,” McDermott said, while cautioning that fans won’t see the best of Williams until the final third of the 2020 season as he adapts back to rugby league.
Williams said he had planned to play another year of rugby union in New Zealand after the World Cup, but was convinced otherwise by the Wolfpack.
He also talks about the importance of his faith.
“At a young age, I was successful. I had wealth, I had fame, I had eyes of the opposite sex on me and I guess where I was from, how I grew up, that was classed as successful. But I always felt hollow, I never felt like I was whole and I was always yearning for something. And that’s what Islam has given me.”
Williams got a glowing welcome from Wolfpack officials.
“To say it’s a monumental day for our franchise is clearly an understatement,” chair and CEO Bob Hunter said. “Welcome to Toronto, a very very busy sports market, six million people. We’re sure you’re going to enjoy your time there.”
Williams, a father of three with a fourth on the way, plans to return to Australia to work out for four to five weeks before joining the Wolfpack at their English training base.