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New Zealand rugby union player Sonny Bill Williams and the rest of the All Blacks visit Christchurch during the Rugby World Cup. Photo by Geoff Trotter- Wikimedia commons

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Sonny Bill Williams

Sonny Bill Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a former professional rugby league and rugby union player from New Zealand. He is only the second person to have represented New Zealand in rugby union after initially representing the country in rugby league, and he is one of only 21 players to have won the Rugby World Cup twice.

Williams has boxed nine times professionally, winning all of his heavyweight fights. He was the New Zealand Professional Boxing Association (NZPBA) Heavyweight Champion and the World Boxing Association (WBA) International Heavyweight Champion before losing both titles due to failure to respond to challenges.

1.Bill Williams recognises himself as a Muslim man

Williams converted to Islam in 2009, while playing for Toulon in France. He is the All Blacks’ first Muslim player and has spoken openly about his faith. In 2018, he went on an Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca and also visited Medina.

He holds dual citizenship in New Zealand and Samoa. In 2019, he issued a “tearful message of condolence”  for the Christchurch mosque shooting victims and condemned China’s treatment of Uyghurs, saying, “It’s a sad time when we choose economic benefits over humanity.” 

Williams has four children with Alana Raffie, whom he met in a shop.

2.Nearly Bill’s whole family is athletic and have great sportsmanship just like him

Niall Williams, Williams’ younger sister, is a former New Zealand international touch football captain and current New Zealand rugby sevens player.

John Arthur Williams, his older brother, has played rugby league in both the New South Wales Cup and the Queensland Cup, as well as for the Phelan Shield champions, the New Lynn Stags, during the 2011 Auckland Rugby League season.

Williams is the cousin of former professional rugby league players Henry and Marcus Perenara. He is also the cousin of Chiefs rugby player Tim Nanai-Williams and Cardiff Blues player Nick Williams.

Williams is also related to current All Blacks player TJ Perenara. Williams is frequently referred to as “SBW.”

3.Williams sportsmanship as a athlete in New Zealand

Williams has twice won the World Cup with the All Blacks and is a rugby league legend, having won two NRL titles in Australia. When he switched sports, he won a Super Rugby title, competed in the Olympics in rugby sevens, and became New Zealand’s heavyweight boxing champion.

4.He has been through quite a lot but turned a new leaf

Rugby world cup 2011 NEW ZEALAND VS ARGENTINA. Photo by Jeanfrancois Beausejour –Wikimedia commons

Williams has also faced low self-esteem, a drinking problem, a troubled past, and rediscovered Islam. He is now retired from rugby after 16 years at the highest level, but he continues to speak out against biasness while focusing on his new career as a professional boxer.

“I’ve felt thrilled, as well as distress and heartbreak and tears,”  Williams says. “However, I always say that a better man makes a better athlete.”

People may think that’s a fairy tale cliche, but the better man knows himself much better. He understands why he is strong in some areas and weak in others.

”That’s why I’m still in the works. Making mistakes and improving has been my life. I put my faith in hard work, the ability to learn from my mistakes, and the ability to persevere.”  Says Williams in an interview with the press.

5.Williams is an author too, he has written an autobiography

He’s just finished his autobiography, which he co-wrote with Maori novelist Alan Duff, and the book is as convincing and open-hearted as Williams is on this Zoom call from Sydney. It’s full of the enticing Sonny Bill sunshine that I’ve felt both times I’ve interviewed him, which contrasts with the darker layers of his story. A similar paradox is at the heart of his personality.

6.Brief summary about his parents and his childhood

New Zealand rugby union player Sonny Bill Williams and the rest of the All Blacks visit Christchurch during the Rugby World Cup. Photo by Geoff Trotter- Wikimedia commons

His father, John, was Samoan. He was a hard man who came from a rough background and struggled to show how much he loved Sonny and his family in working-class Auckland.

Lee, his insightful mother, was the polar opposite in her capability to show love while maintaining a feisty edge. The book helps Williams better understand his father’s past, and they are now close, but his pale skin meant he was judged by the Polynesian and more fortunate white kids.

7.When did Williams first contract as a professional rugby player happen?

Rugby league assisted him in gaining acceptance, and at the age of 14, Sonny Bill signed a contract with the Canterbury Bulldogs in Sydney. At the age of 18, he made an explosive NRL debut. As his celebrity grew and he was thrust into unsettling social situations, he turned to drinking and drug use to escape his inner turmoil.

8.Williams downfall when it came to drinking and drug abuse

He was prosecuted of drunk driving in 2005, and the Bulldogs rolled him out for a press briefing without providing him with the assistance he required. Even after he found refuge in the Muslim community, which included boxer Anthony Mundine, some rugby players were skeptical.

“Are you converting to Islam?”  Williams was questioned with a new level of concern. Williams tried to make light of it, but on the inside, he felt befuddled and angry.

“We’re still in that place today,”  he says, “though in professional sports, there’s so much talk about having help at your fingertips for everything from nutrition to mental health.”

”However all we’re doing in sports is covering up our pain on the inside with a bandage. I’d make a big mistake, like drinking and driving, and I’d be sorry.

I desperately need assistance, but as soon as I start playing well again, it’s as if: ‘He’s reborn, he’s back!’ But my life is still full of difficulties. I was playing some of the best football I’d ever played and living the “dream,” but I was deeply unhappy.”

9.How did Williams get back on his feet after his conviction and his unhealthy lifestyle?

Rugby world cup 2011 NEW ZEALAND VS ARGENTINA. Photo by Jeanfrancois Beausejour –Wikimedia commons

When Tana Umaga of the All Blacks asked him if he would consider switching codes and moving to Toulon in 2008, he was full of self loathing. Williams jumped at the opportunity for a fresh start and, despite being labelled a con artist and a betrayer who was only motivated by money, the move cost him AUS$1 million (£540,000).

The Bulldogs took him to court, and only the kindness of Mundine and many others enabled him to obtain a loan to get him out of Sydney. Williams evolved himself in France, so the monetary impact was worthwhile.

10.Williams minor setback and major comeback playing for the All Blacks

Williams appeared in three World Cups for the All Blacks, helping New Zealand win the tournament in 2011 and 2015. Before the 2011 World Cup final, with the country in a state of panic after failing to win the tournament since 1987, All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen begged  Williams not to try any absurd off-loads.

New Zealand defeated France 8-7. Williams was true to himself four years later, and he set loose some opulent off-loads in the final, the first of which was the high point of a brilliant run from halfway.

Despite being gang-tackled by a desperate Australian defense, he slipped a sensitive little offload to Ma’a Nonu, who scored a seemingly simple try.