RIPPED, READY AND DANGEROUS

Sonny Bill Williams has committed himself to another two years at least of rugby. But how easy will it be for him to ready himself physically after his stint in the NRL?

TIME FOR THE SBW ALL BLACK SHOW

Sonny Bill Williams is a rugby chameleon. Moving between rugby league, rugby and boxing, he has shown a rare ability to be able to transfer his sublime athletic skills across different codes, and quickly.

There is no doubting that his physical attributes help. Let’s face it - he is naturally gifted. At 1.94metres and 108 kilos, Williams resembles the ultimate rugby machine: agile, he has long reach, is explosive, powerful in contact and he can offload in the heaviest traffic.

His time in rugby has added huge all- round benefits to his game. In rugby league, his role in the second row is to tackle and make effective runs with ball in hand. After his stints with Toulon, Canterbury, the Crusaders, Chiefs and All Blacks – he can now kick well, has vision, a greater game sense, plus he retains his physical attributes that made him so successful in rugby league.

He is now attempting to move back into rugby. His previous stint in rugby and boxing will help, but it won’t be easy. He has spent two years conditioning his body to play in the forwards – yet when he returns to rugby, it will be at second- five.

We asked a number of Super Rugby and NRL coaches what they thought about how Williams will go; what he needs to do physically to make the transition into rugby and the differences between the two codes from a training perspective.

Firstly, they believe his genetics and athleticism will make it a fairly quick transition to get back into the physical requirements of rugby.

David Boyle, who was assistant coach with the Wallabies and strength trainer for a number of NRL clubs, thinks that