Sonny Bill Williams

Williams was born on 3 August 1985, in Auckland, New Zealand, the son of a Samoan father, Ioane ("John") Williams and mother, Lee Williams who is half-New Zealander and half-Australian. He has an older brother, John Arthur, and younger twin sisters, Niall and Denise.

Williams was a Marist Saints junior when he was spotted playing in Auckland by Bulldogs talent scout John Ackland. In 2002 he was offered a contract and moved to Sydney (as the youngest player to ever sign with an NRL club) to play in the Bulldogs' junior grades. While training professionally, Williams worked full-time as a labourer. He advanced up the ranks quickly: becoming a starting player in the forward pack for the Bulldogs' Jersey Flegg Cup side in his first year. The following year Williams cemented a starting spot in the Premier League side. He also represented NSW as a junior; however, in 2013, when the NSW team investigated whether he could represent them in State of Origin, it was found that he only met two of the five necessary qualifications.

In 2004, when eighteen years old, Williams made his NRL debut for Canterbury-Bankstown against the Parramatta Eels at Telstra Stadium. In 2004, he was selected by New Zealand after only a handful of NRL games and on 23 April made his debut for the Kiwis as their youngest-ever Test player in the 2004 ANZAC Test against Australia. He had previously played for the Junior Kiwis. Williams played fifteen NRL matches during the season, establishing himself in the Canterbury squad. He experienced premiership success in his debut season and became the youngest person to play for Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in a grand final when playing off the bench in the Bulldogs' 16–13 victory over the Sydney Roosters in the 2004 NRL Grand Final. Williams capped a successful debut season by receiving the 2004 RLIF Awards' International Newcomer of the Year Award and being named in Rugby League World magazine's 2004 World XIII. As 2004 NRL premiers, Canterbury-Bankstown faced Super League IX champions, the Leeds Rhinos, in the 2005 World Club Challenge, which Canterbury lost 32–39.

Williams's contract was due to expire in 2005, and he received several offers to lure him away from the Bulldogs. The largest offer was rumoured to be about $3 million from UK Super League club St Helens. Williams decided to stay with Canterbury-Bankstown and signed on for a further two years. St Helens chairman Eamonn McManus later said the club had not made an offer to him.

In the first game of the 2007 season, Williams was sent off and subsequently suspended for two weeks for a high tackle on Andrew Johns. He thus became the first player of the 21st century to be sent off in a first-round game. Speculation surrounding Williams's playing future ended when he re-signed with Canterbury on 9 March 2007 for a five-year contract worth over $2.5 million, extending through to the 2012 season. Williams was selected to play for the Kiwis as a second-row forward in the 2007 Anzac Test loss against Australia. He went on to play in 21 matches for the Bulldogs; scored fourteen tries and topped the competition, for the second successive year, for most offloads. However, Williams broke his forearm in a tackle on Nathan Hindmarsh during the semi-final against the Parramatta Eels. His team lost the match, and Williams was again ruled out from representing New Zealand in the post-season 2007 Great Britain Tour. He was nominated for 'Second-Rower of the Year' at the 2007 Dally M Awards; however, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles second-rower Anthony Watmough won the award.

In July 2008, after linking up with new manager Khoder Nasser, Williams left Australia to join the Tana Umaga coached French rugby union club Toulon. In his controversial mid-season exit from the NRL, Williams cited salary cap concerns for his move. In 2005 it had been suggested that the NRL's salary cap restrictions could prove problematic in trying to keep top-grade players in rugby league. The Canterbury Bulldogs club officials and players were not notified of his departure until after Williams had already left for Europe using a Samoan passport. Williams was eighteen months into a five-year contract with the Bulldogs, and the dispute was only resolved when Toulon paid a transfer fee of around £300,000 (A$750,000). According to the Bulldogs CEO Todd Greenberg, Williams was "our best player [before he] walked out". The circumstances in which he left the Bulldogs created a media debate in Australia and New Zealand, and Williams was the subject of considerable criticism for a departure that was described as the greatest act of treachery in the game's history.

Williams's highest honour with Toulon was finishing runner-up in the 2009-10 European Challenge Cup. On 6 June 2009 he played for the Barbarians in a tour match against Australia. His contract with Toulon ended in June 2010; in the same year Toulon reportedly tabled a three-year, $6 million offer to Williams, while the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) came up with a $550,000 per year deal. He was also offered the chance to play for France at the 2011 World Cup. Williams rejected Toulon's offer, reportedly the largest in rugby union history, and opted to sign with the NZRU in a bid to play for the All Blacks. He then chose to play with Canterbury in the ITM Cup and the Crusaders in the Super Rugby competition.

On 27 May 2009, Williams made his debut as a professional boxer on the undercard of close friend Anthony Mundine, defeating Garry Gurr with a technical knockout (TKO) in the second round in Brisbane. On 30 June 2010 he defeated Ryan Hogan in a bout that ended by TKO after only two minutes and 35 seconds. Williams described the preparation for the fight as "good off-season training" for his imminent debut for the Canterbury rugby team.

Williams converted to Islam in 2009, while in France playing for Toulon. He is the first Muslim to play for the All Blacks and has spoken extensively about his faith. In 2018, he performed an Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca, and traveled to Medina as well. He is a dual citizen of New Zealand and Samoa. In 2019, he made a "tearful message of condolence" for the victims of the Christchurch mosque shootings and denounced the treatment of the Uyghurs in China: "It’s a sad time when we choose economic benefits over humanity." Williams is married and has four children.

On 7 March, Williams made his debut for the Roosters before a record first round crowd and television audience; he also scored his first try for his new club. On 1 April, Williams scored his second try in the Roosters' 50–0 win over the Eels—their biggest ever victory against Parramatta and the first time they had kept their opposition scoreless in consecutive matches since 1999. On 12 April he scored twice in his first encounter against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, with the 38–0 result being the Roosters' largest ever victory over Canterbury. On 5 May he scored his fifth try against the Panthers. On 16 June, Williams scored his sixth try against the Warriors. On 28 July, Williams scored his seventh try against Newcastle, but he was given a two match suspension for a grade three careless high tackle on former Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs teammate Willie Mason. On 19 August, after returning from suspension, Williams scored his eighth try against the Wests Tigers. On 6 September he was named man-of-the-match as the Roosters claimed the NRL minor premiership and J. J. Giltinan Shield against the Rabbitohs in front of a record NRL regular season crowd of 59,708. On 6 October, Williams played in the grand final against Manly, with the Roosters claiming the premiership 26–18. Williams later said of the victory "I didn't cry, but it was the first time I've come close to crying." Subsequently, he was awarded the Jack Gibson Medal as the Roosters' player of the year. Several days later he announced that he would continue playing for the Roosters into 2014—the first time he had played consecutive seasons for one team since leaving Toulon in 2010.

On 29 January 2011, Williams fought in his third professional match against Australian Scott Lewis at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, in his first fight as the main event. Coincidentally, Lewis's trainer, Terry Devlin, named his youngest son after Williams—whom he called a "superb athlete". Williams was initially scheduled to fight Lewis on 29 January at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre; however, the bout was moved to the Gold Coast to cross-promote Williams's Super Rugby team, the Crusaders, and their pre-season game against the Queensland Reds. Due to the 2010–2011 Queensland floods occurring at the same time as Williams's preparation for his bout against Lewis, as well as his chief sparring partner, Alex Leapai, being stranded by the flooding in Gatton, Williams donated 200 tickets for the fight to flood victims. Williams won the six-round bout against Lewis by unanimous points decision: he was scored favourably 60–55, 60–55 and 60–54 by the three judges. A fan paid $3,890 for his autographed gloves from the bout, with the money going towards the Queensland flood relief fund.

On 5 June 2011, Williams had his fourth fight when the Crusaders had a bye week. The fight, the second of three allowed under his agreement with the NZRU, took place at Trusts Stadium, Waitakere City, against Tongan Alipate Liava'a. Williams won the bout by unanimous points decision: the fight scored 60–54 in his favour by all three judges. The event was promoted as a Christchurch earthquake charity fight dubbed The Clash For Canterbury. The fight became one of the single largest fundraisers for the 2011 Christchurch earthquake appeal when Sky donated its profits from the pay-per-view sales of the fight, and Williams made a $NZ100,000 donation from his share of TV sales—described as "one of the biggest individual donations by an athlete to a disaster appeal."

Williams's younger sister, Niall, is a New Zealand former international touch football captain and current New Zealand rugby sevens player. His older brother John Arthur Williams has played rugby league in both the New South Wales Cup and Queensland Cup, as well as for the Phelan Shield premiers, the New Lynn Stags, in the 2011 Auckland Rugby League season. Williams is the cousin of brothers Henry and Marcus Perenara, who are former professional rugby league players. He is also the cousin of rugby player and Chiefs teammate Tim Nanai-Williams and Cardiff Blues player Nick Williams. Williams is also distantly related to current All Blacks teammate TJ Perenara. Williams is often referred to as "SBW"

On 13 November 2012, Williams confirmed he would be returning to rugby league after signing a one-year deal with the Sydney Roosters for the 2013 NRL season. His return was undertaken to honour a handshake agreement with Roosters chairman Nick Politis. It took over a month before his contract was officially approved and registered by the ARLC; he was "frogmarched into League Central to be grilled as part of the probe" into his contract. Williams's return coincided with the banning of the shoulder charge, a manoeuvre of which he has been described as the best and most famous exponent.

On 9 July 2012, Williams announced he would be playing for the Panasonic Wild Knights in the Japanese Top League during the 2012–13 season—with the allowance to have one boxing fight during the season—before returning to rugby league. The Panasonic deal was thought to be the largest one-season contract in rugby union history. He was also expected to be heavily involved in the promotion of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, the country being the main host of the event. On 9 September, a week after sitting out the Top League season opener to be given time to adjust after coming off recent All Blacks duties, Williams made his debut for Panasonic against NTT Communications Shining Arcs. On 22 September he scored his first try for Panasonic, while playing against Toshiba Brave Lupus. On 27 October, Williams scored his second try during Panasonic's eighth round victory over the Kintetsu Liners; however, the match would be his final game of the season after sustaining an injury when he landed awkwardly on his shoulder following a tackle.

On 8 February 2012, Williams was supposed to fight Richard Tutaki for the vacant New Zealand Professional Boxing Association (NZPBA) Heavyweight Championship title at Claudelands Arena in Hamilton, after Shane Cameron vacated it to move down to the cruiserweight division. However, it was later revealed that Tutaki was facing serious criminal charges; so he was subsequently dropped from the fight card. Williams's replacement opponent was then announced to be Auckland-based American Clarence Tillman III. The fight was dubbed the Battle for the Belt. Williams went on to claim the title belt by technical knockout after a left hook and a series of further blows on Tillman forced referee Lance Revill to stop the fight in the first round. Following the bout, Williams rejected an offer to join the boxing stable of fight promoter Don King.

On 24 November 2012, during the Japanese Top League's November break, Williams was due to fight South African former heavyweight contender Francois Botha at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. However, the bout was postponed to 8 February 2013 after Williams required surgery for a right pectoral muscle injury sustained while playing for Panasonic on 27 October. The fight was for the vacant WBA International Heavyweight title. The event also marked the boxing debut of Williams's close friend and fellow rugby player, Quade Cooper, on the undercard. After dominating most rounds but on the verge of being knocked out in the last round, Williams went on to win the bout by unanimous points decision, with the judges scoring 98–94, 97–91 and 97–91 in his favour. However, the victory was marred by controversy because at late notice (and unbeknownst to most people) the fight was shortened to ten rounds, instead of the scheduled twelve. Australian National Boxing Federation committee member John Hogg later stated that the decision to cut the bout short was made just before the fight started, with the approval of officials and both Williams's and Botha's camps; however, Botha was not informed of the change by his own camp.

On 20 December 2013 it was announced that Williams would return to rugby union with the Chiefs on a two-year deal starting in 2015. He also aimed to represent New Zealand in the 2015 Rugby World Cup and in rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics. On 15 June 2014, Williams signed a two-year deal, starting in 2015, to play in the ITM Cup with Counties Manukau—reuniting with his former Toulon coach Tana Umaga. However, on 8 October 2014 he started his contract with Counties a year early when he made his debut for the club against Auckland, only twelve days after his last game for the Roosters. He played the following game, which was also his clubs' final game of the season.

In October 2013, Williams revealed he would not fight again for at least another three years due to a lack of time as he pursued his footballing goals and commitments. This led to him being stripped of his two boxing titles in mid-December 2013.

On 6 March 2014, Williams and the Roosters began the 2014 NRL season with a loss to rivals the Rabbitohs; he was suspended for three games as a result of a shoulder charge on George Burgess in the final minute of the game. He returned in round five in a loss to the Bulldogs. On 12 April, Williams played his 100th NRL game against Parramatta—the same club he marked his debut against with the Bulldogs. On 23 May he scored twice against the Bulldogs to register his first points of the season. On 8 June, Williams scored his third try against the Melbourne Storm. Following the game against Newcastle, he revealed he had suffered a fractured thumb and would be sidelined for up to four weeks. During his recovery he was a guest host on the Nine Network's Footy Show and was part of a high-profile delegation to launch the NRL's Pacific Strategy in Samoa. After missing three games, Williams returned against the Warriors. On 26 September, Williams's two-year tenure in the NRL ended following the minor premiers' preliminary final loss to the Rabbitohs. However, Williams did not rule out a return to the Roosters in the future.

On 5 May 2014, Williams became a global ambassador for sportswear manufacturer Adidas—becoming the first player in rugby league history to be signed on such a deal. He is also the face of clothing label Just Jeans and a brand ambassador for BMW. He has also had endorsement deals with other brands, including Powerade and Rebel Sport. He was ranked 41st in SportsPro magazine's 50 most marketable athletes for 2014.

On 31 January 2015, Williams prematurely returned to the ring when he fought American Chauncy Welliver at Allphones Arena in Sydney. Coincidentally, in 2012, during his stint playing rugby for Panasonic in Japan, Williams was ringside when Welliver fought Kyotaro Fujimoto. Included on Williams's undercards were fellow footballers Paul Gallen, Liam Messam and Willis Meehan. The event marked the inaugural Footy Show Fight Night and was broadcast, in a rare occurrence, live on free-to-air television channel GEM. Williams won the bout by unanimous points decision, with the judges scoring 80–72, 80–72 and 79–73 in his favour and Welliver praising his performance and potential.

In December 2015, Williams served as an ambassador for UNICEF, visiting Lebanon with Mike McRoberts in an effort to raise awareness of the plight of Syrian refugee children.

On 11 January, Williams began training with the All Blacks Sevens team. However, his introduction to the sport and national team began at the 2015 Dubai Sevens, as a guest of the tournament, where he also witnessed the debut of his sister, Niall, for the New Zealand women's team. His inclusion in the international sevens arena has been "Touted as the biggest gain from the 15-a-side ranks". On 25 January, Williams was named in the squad for the 2016 Wellington Sevens. On 30 January, he marked his international debut against Russia, scoring a try with his first touch of the ball. He went on to play in the remainder of New Zealand's pool matches. The following day, Williams played in the quarter-final against Kenya, scored a try in the semi-final against England and played in the final's victory against South Africa. After Wellington, he played in the following 2016 Sydney Sevens, including the victory against Australia in the final. He was rested for the subsequent 2016 Las Vegas Sevens and was then ruled out of the 2016 Canada Sevens due to a swollen knee. Williams returned from injury against France in the 2016 Hong Kong Sevens and scored a try in the final pool stage game against Samoa. He went on to play in the quarter-final against Wales, the semi-final against South Africa and the loss against Fiji in the final. The following week he played in the 2016 Singapore Sevens, losing to Samoa in the second-tier Plate final. He went on to play in the 2016 Paris Sevens; however, his tournament was cut short by a knee injury. The following week he played in the 2016 London Sevens, the final tournament of the World Series, scoring a try against Russia. His tournament was again cut short, by an ankle injury early in the quarter-final loss to the United States, with New Zealand finishing the World Series in third place.

On 1 June, Williams announced he had signed a three-year deal (his longest commitment since 2008) to stay with New Zealand rugby until the 2019 Rugby World Cup and would be joining the Blues in 2017, linking with coach Tana Umaga for the third time in his rugby career.

In 2017 Williams was part of the Blues super rugby squad. Coming back from injury, his first game for the Blues was in April against the Highlanders, a game where he made headlines for taping over the BNZ logo on his jersey. After a patchy return from injury, Williams looked back in form when the Blues drew with the Chiefs on a rainy Auckland evening. Williams delivered a man of the match performance to help the Blues defeat the British and Irish Lions, 22–16. With time running out and the Lions in the lead, Williams gave an offload to Ihaia West to score the match-winning try.

Williams finished the year by starting for the All Blacks three times on the end-of-year tour. In all, Williams played in 13 tests in 2017.

In February 2019, Williams was linked with a move to Toronto Wolfpack, the first Canadian professional club, who play in the British rugby league system. After their promotion to the Super League, Williams agreed to switch back to rugby league and signed for the club on 7 November. The two-year deal is reportedly worth up to $10 million.

Happy Birthday, Sonny Bill Williams

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