Hollywood ‘shows interest’ in Williams
The Australian mining magnate behind Toronto Wolfpack’s mega move for Sonny Bill Williams claims Hollywood has been in contact for a behind the scenes movie to document the Canadian league franchise’s rapid rise into the English Super League.
Williams played his 58th and final test for the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup bronze final against Wales on November 1 and his two-year contract with Toronto worth a reported NZ$10 million was confirmed last week. It makes him the richest player in either rugby code.
The Wolfpack, who next year play in the Super League for the first time after two promotions in three seasons since first playing professionally in the UK in 2017, are bankrolled by Canadian businessmen and Australian mining entrepreneur David Argyle.
When announcing the signing of the 34-year-old Williams last week, the Canadian club said its website crashed while saying he was ‘‘rugby’s LeBron James’’, but it worked when Stuff accessed it once his return to league was confirmed.
Williams held his first press conference as a Wolfpack player in London yesterday. Argyle has backed up the claim, declaring their website went down once news of the former All Black’s signing went live.
His contract worth a reported £2.6m
‘‘Sonny is a phenomenal athlete and we believe he is rugby’s LeBron James.’’ Wolfpack boss Bob Hunter
a year (NZ$5.25m) gives him a share of the club and a starring role in a Netflix series, but Argyle also said he would be meeting a Hollywood producer for a film about the Wolfpack.
‘‘We have a really good IT department and server, and it crashed. We had 70,000 people trying to access it the minute it went live,’’ Argyle told Sky Sports Radio in Australia.
‘‘Some very large companies have contacted us to get involved. I’m meeting a producer from Hollywood who is flying out on Sunday from LA to meet with me, he wants to shoot the true, gritty behind the scenes of how and why we’re here, the story of our road to the Super League.’’
The Wolfpack hope Williams can raise their profile as Super League attempts to tap into the gigantic sporting markets in North America, boosting the UK game’s finances with longheld financial issues still a concern, while growing the sport over there.
Williams is a human headline in New Zealand but Toronto signing the former Canterbury Bulldogs and Sydney
Roosters star has not yet featured prominently on any of Toronto’s sporting media websites. The city is better known for its love of ice hockey and the storied NHL franchise, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It was Toronto head coach Brian McDermott who first suggested publicly that Williams’ move would be like former football star David Beckham’s transfer from Real Madrid to LA Galaxy in the United States in 2007.
‘‘The excitement he will bring to the sport of rugby league in this country will be incredible,’’ Wolfpack CEO Bob Hunter said in the statement confirming the club’s move for Williams.
‘‘Having someone of his talent join the Wolfpack will greatly raise the profile of the club, and also help move the game forward globally. Sonny is a phenomenal athlete and we believe he is rugby’s LeBron James and his addition to our league is comparable to when David Beckham joined LA Galaxy. ‘‘
English rugby stars Manu Tuilagi and Ben Te’o are also reportedly on Toronto’s radar.