SBW returns to league
13 Nov 2012
All Blacks centre Sonny Bill Williams has signed a one-year contract with the National Rugby League’s Sydney Roosters.
Williams left the All Blacks earlier this season to take up a lucrative short-term contract in Japan. On Tuesday, he confirmed a new deal with the Roosters.
Williams recently injured a pectoral muscle and could miss the rest of the Japanese season as a result. The injury has also forced Williams to postpone his boxing match with South African veteran Francois Botha.
It could be that the next time fans see Williams in action is for the Roosters, and the 27-year-old feels a return to the club where he made his name was always on the cards.
‘It was pretty tough [to come back]. It’s tough, but me and [Roosters chairman] Nick [Politis] are good friends, good mates,’ Williams said.
‘He tried to get me when I was an 18-year-old and when I made that [handshake] agreement with him I knew it would always be the case [of joining the Roosters when he returned to league].’
The short-term deal suggests that Williams will have the option of returning to rugby union in 2014 and competing for a place in the All Blacks squad ahead of the 2015 World Cup.
39 Comments
13 Nov 2012, 07:38 am
pity…
13 Nov 2012, 07:45 am
Dok Craven het altyd gesê n speler moet nooit dink hy is groter
as die game nie. SBW dink hy is groter as die game so laat hy eerder
league gaan speel.
13 Nov 2012, 08:07 am
botha is going to fark this guy up.
he would be a fool to go through with it.
13 Nov 2012, 08:14 am
doc craven was a bigot…
13 Nov 2012, 08:15 am
Brilliant! Hope to see him back in union soon, I love to watch him play.
13 Nov 2012, 08:16 am
ANOTHER Kiwi legend………
13 Nov 2012, 08:52 am
On Tuesday, he confirmed a return to the Roosters, a side he represented back in 2008.
JC.
SBW only EVER played for the Bulldogs in the NRL. And they most certainly would never take him back.
13 Nov 2012, 10:00 am
@Transformation-4:
A self serving two-faced one at that.
13 Nov 2012, 10:06 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-3:
Botha is 44yrs….20kg overweight and has lost 4 of his last 5 fights……….down in three………. hehe
13 Nov 2012, 10:39 am
@Te Rangatira-9:
jeezuz TR, i just dont see it happening, honest.
in most of those fights he went close to the full distance against heavy hitting men so i think we can safely say sbw will need to go at the very least 5 to 7 of 10 or 12 rounds to stand any chance of bringing him down.
from what i’ve seen of sbw so far i dont feel he has a strong enough straight arm/cross punch to trouble botha at all in the early stages of the fight. he would need to tire him enough early on and then look to land either a killer straght arm or a combo in later rounds once botha is tired and not holding his defensive guard well.
also, is he a capable inside and outside boxer if the situation demands.
13 Nov 2012, 10:48 am
Handshake agreement? F uk he can’t even stick to a written signed contract!!
Tjop of note……
13 Nov 2012, 10:48 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-10:
SBW will jab on the outside and if Botha wants to come on the inside Sbw will collect him with an array of punches….just a matter of (old fatherly) time……
13 Nov 2012, 10:49 am
@Transformation-4:
and you are also a tjop!
13 Nov 2012, 10:50 am
@cane-8:
Yup and you knew him well enough to make that comment?
13 Nov 2012, 10:54 am
@Stoetbul9-2: HM is looking for players bigger than that.
@Te Rangatira-12: problem comes when father time catches him…
13 Nov 2012, 11:04 am
@trupisero-15:
Yep Trups, possibly. Sbw will be fit and ripped, but conditioned?depends how many sparring rounds hes done.
13 Nov 2012, 11:04 am
What happens if Botha wins. Does that make him NZ champ? Not sure I’m comfortable with that and will have to take a holiday from Keo
13 Nov 2012, 11:06 am
@gonzo-17:
haha………Sbw should put the belt up…..crackup
13 Nov 2012, 11:07 am
@whatever-14:
Just as well as you know Popps and Hurricane.
13 Nov 2012, 11:09 am
@Te Rangatira-12:
well good luck to him then. personally, i just dont see it happening.
@trupisero-15:
hehehe
it wont be pretty, that much is certain.
13 Nov 2012, 11:10 am
@gonzo-17: @Te Rangatira-18:
I think Francois would have to be a NZ Resident to relieve Sonny Bill of his NZ Title………………………….surely?
Anyway……………………………………… Francois most likely lives on the North Shore by now anyway.
13 Nov 2012, 11:44 am
“The SBW v Botha will not happen” That’s what Corrie Sanders said in the last interview he gave when talking to Darren Scott. You tube it. He thinks the reason is because it won’t be a competition, a boxer against a pretender.
13 Nov 2012, 12:12 pm
@gonzo-17: Oh, and it will have to be a looooooooooooong one ‘cos these guys will never let you hear the end of it!!!
13 Nov 2012, 12:16 pm
@cane-19:
lol
Whatever just leaves himself open so often….hilarious
13 Nov 2012, 12:42 pm
@blik-22:
Which one is the boxer?
13 Nov 2012, 12:51 pm
@Hurricane-24:
He’s a very disturbed individual.
A worry to all the North Shore Community.
13 Nov 2012, 12:53 pm
@huricane
Why’s that? It’s like me saying jock Hobbs was a self serving idiot! Anyone can make stupid comments like canes. Comments about you and poppadoos are easily explained though….you just have to read this site for a few hours
13 Nov 2012, 12:57 pm
@blik-22:
exactly.
hopefully sonny’s sense wil prevail.
13 Nov 2012, 13:00 pm
@whatever-27:
hehe
There is more to Hurricane than the front page Whatever.
13 Nov 2012, 13:08 pm
Hehe, cane you need to visit the big smoke more often, mission bay is not on the shore.
13 Nov 2012, 13:41 pm
People dont give SBW enough credit for being smart – yes he appears dumb and money driven but the kid has talent and good work ethic .
Everyone thought he would suck in union – umm no he didnt.
Everyone said he would get his but kicked in boxing …undeafeated record and champion of something or the other
Look he’s not stepping into the ring against Klitchko , he’s picking opponents he can beat and beat easy – he’s building up his boxing portfolio slowly but carefully in 5 years time he will be a serious contender
in the mean time he’s racking in dough while we all sit here and type about how much we hate him.
13 Nov 2012, 14:11 pm
@boktillzero-31: Agree, he is a very talented sportsman. If he sticked at union he would have gone far, may still do. But I have my reservations about his boxing ability, it’s a different game.
13 Nov 2012, 14:18 pm
As I have said before: SBW = self-centred opportunist scum-bag!
13 Nov 2012, 16:11 pm
@Maljan-33: Scum bag – based on what? Walking out on the NRL or something he’s done since then? Even the NRL have forgiven him because they know he can help make them a tonne of cash.
13 Nov 2012, 16:43 pm
@gonzo-34: I think some people a jealous of SBW. He has done what most people can only dream of. Fair play to him wanting to make monsy, he is a proffesional after all. Does the average man get criticised if he moves from banking to insurance?
13 Nov 2012, 20:25 pm
why all the hate for SBW
14 Nov 2012, 09:51 am
@boktillzero-31:
I agree.
Even in his short period within NZ rugby, look at the change that has happened.
Yes, the AB’s have played open rugby for the last 15 years or what ever, but this offloading in the tackle was not part of the game play prior to SBW coming along.
16 Nov 2012, 13:06 pm
No jealousy at all – I respect what he has brought to rugby re the off-load, but I do not respect his professional manner – sorry to all of you – this is my opinion to which I am fully entitled. Rugby is a team sport. The are many structures built around the team. Many people have lost out on opportunity because of his maverick and selfish approach. I’m OK Jack! is his approach – f#@k the team! Then he is also one of the dirtiest defenders in rugby, second only to Butch James. No arms and all shoulders SBW. And yet he got away with it on numerous occasions because he’s the great SBW. Bollocks – hes a thug and scumbag! Don’t be fooled by his Rosy little cheeks!
16 Nov 2012, 13:12 pm
He will be back to RU soon enough.
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