When was sonny bill williams born

Let's take a look at the life of Williams, who is one of the biggest names in world rugby. Williams was born into a working-class family on Aug. Although his father was an accomplished rugby league player himself, Williams was introduced to the sport by his mother. Although Williams was small in stature and not very well-built during his school years, he was quite athletic — taking up competitive sprinting, high jump and cross-country running. Williams was a junior at Marist Saints - a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand - when he was spotted by former talent scout John Ackland.

While training with his new club, Williams worked full-time to support his family. Williams struggled with injuries during the season and had to dismiss suggestions of being injury prone. He was also forced to miss the Tri-Nations year due to an injury. Amidst much speculation surrounding his future, Williams signed a five-year contract with the Bulldogs in March.

He topped the charts for most offloads for a second successive year. After signing his new contract with the Bulldogs, Williams left Australia in , switched to rugby union and joined French club Toulon. It was a controversial move as Williams was only 18 months into the new contract he had signed with the Bulldogs.

Williams converted to Islam in , stating he found his faith in France during his stint with Toulon. Prior to his change of faith, he was involved in several off-field infractions, but believes he has transformed himself completely since. Williams, renowned for his superlative athletic talents and the ability to excel across sports, made his professional boxing debut on May 27, and defeated Garry Gurr with a technical knockout TKO in Brisbane, Australia.

On Oct. Williams made his highly anticipated All Blacks debut on Nov. In only his second game, Williams was named man of the match for his performance against Scotland. Hachette Australia acknowledges and pays our respects to the past, present and future Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Our head office is located on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. Your cart Close. Authors Sonny Bill Williams. As a child he has been described as being a "small, skinny white kid" who was "painfully shy", as well as "a freakish sporting talent, a competitive sprinter, a champion high jumper and cross country runner and the kid who played footy in teams a couple of age divisions above, to make things fairer.

Though his father was an accomplished rugby league player, Williams has said it was his mother who introduced him to the game. In 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 , 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. He had previously played for the Junior Kiwis.

Williams played fifteen NRL matches during the season—establishing himself in the Bulldogs squad. He experienced premiership success in his debut season and became the youngest person to play for the Bulldogs in a grand final when playing off the bench in the Bulldogs' 16—13 victory over the Sydney Roosters in the NRL Grand Final. Williams's contract was due to expire in , and he received several offers to lure him away from the Bulldogs. Williams decided to stay with the Bulldogs and signed on for a further two years.

St Helens chairman Eamonn McManus later said the club had not made an offer to him. Williams had a shortened season after sustaining a severe knee injury and several minor injuries. He played five games throughout the year and subsequently missed several internationals for New Zealand.

Williams expressed his frustration, stating "You've got to be pretty strong mentally when you have injuries, and I've had a few. Williams stayed relatively injury-free throughout the season, playing in 21 matches and scoring eight tries. The Bulldogs were beaten in the preliminary final by eventual premiers the Brisbane Broncos. However, off-season surgery forced Williams to miss the Tri-Nations for New Zealand for the second consecutive year. In the first game of the 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. Williams was selected to play for the Kiwis as a second-row forward in the 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 Eels. His team lost the match, and Williams was again ruled out from representing New Zealand in the post-season Great Britain Tour. On 13 November , Williams confirmed he would be returning to rugby league after signing a one-year deal with the Sydney Roosters for the 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 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 On 12 April he scored twice in his first encounter against the 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 Bulldogs teammate Willie Mason.

On 19 August, after returning from suspension, Williams scored his eighth try against the Wests Tigers. On 6 October, Williams played in the grand final against Manly, with the Roosters claiming the premiership 26— Williams later said of the victory "I didn't cry, but it was the first time I've come close to crying.

Several days later he announced that he would continue playing for the Roosters into —the first time he had played consecutive seasons for one team since leaving Toulon in Following the NRL season, Williams announced himself unavailable for international selection.

As a result, New Zealand named a man squad without him; however, after reversing his self-exclusion he was added to the squad at the expense of Tohu Harris. On 27 October, Williams played in his first Test game in over five years—and his first victory for the Kiwis—while playing against Samoa.

In his second game of the tournament, Williams scored three tries against Papua New Guinea, in a man-of-the-match performance. In the week leading up to the final, Williams was awarded the Rugby League International Federation's 'International Player of the Year' award for ; he cried when his teammates performed an impromptu haka for him at the award ceremony.

On 6 March , Williams and the Roosters began the 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 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.

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. In his controversial mid-season exit from the NRL, Williams cited salary cap concerns for his move.

In it had been suggested that the NRL's salary cap restrictions could prove problematic in trying to keep top-grade players in rugby league. Bulldogs club officials and players were not notified of his departure until after Williams had already left for Europe using a Samoan passport.

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 European Challenge Cup. On 6 June he played for the Barbarians in a tour match against Australia. He was also offered the French number twelve jersey at the Rugby 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 was named in the reserves and eighteen minutes into the game replaced second five-eight Ryan Crotty. This would make him only the fourth person to have played for the All Blacks before having played any Super Rugby. He started at outside centre and combined with Ma'a Nonu to form the heaviest ever All Black midfield partnership at kilograms lb.

In playing for the All Blacks he became the first person since Karl Ifwersen, in the s, to represent New Zealand in rugby union after first playing for New Zealand in rugby league. On 13 November, in his second game for the All Blacks, Williams was awarded the man-of-the-match for his performance against Scotland. On 4 March, Williams made his Super Rugby debut for the Crusaders against the Waratahs, scoring a try and setting up another.

A week later he scored his second try against the ACT Brumbies. On 9 April, in his fifth game for the Crusaders, Williams scored his third try.

On 23 April, Williams, playing off the reserves bench against the Highlanders, experienced his first rugby defeat since his All Black debut more than five months earlier. A week later he scored his fourth try while playing against the Western Force. On 29 May he played against the Queensland Reds in a match which set a new attendance record for an Australian Super Rugby game, with 48, fans at Suncorp Stadium.