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Sonny Bill Williams is unveiled by his new Canadian side... in London
By Josh Raisey
Former All Blacks centre Sonny Bill Williams has been unveiled by rugby league’s Toronto Wolfpack ahead of the 2020 Super League season.
The event took place at the Emirates Stadium, the London home of Arsenal Football Club, revealing what is the most lucrative deal in either rugby codes’ history.
The dual World Cup winner finished his union career for New Zealand against Wales in the bronze final of the 2019 RWC earlier this month, but his future was still unclear after that game.
The 34-year-old Williams even revealed to Sky Sports that “at the start of this year I'd never expect to be sitting here right now”, explaining that his sole attention had been on playing for the All Blacks.
But after Steve Hansen’s side failed in their bid to win three successive tournaments when they were beaten by England in the semi-final, there would have been a surge of interest for one of the game’s biggest stars.
Williams is unquestionably the biggest dual code rugby player, having won the NRL with both the Canterbury Bulldogs and the Sydney Roosters, as well as the plethora of titles in union.
Williams’ two-year deal with the Canadian outfit is worth $NZ5m a season, which is the biggest deal in rugby’s history.
However, this is widely regarded as the most high profile deal in Super League history and is expected to boost the code’s popularity immeasurable in England, the southern hemisphere and North America.
The Wolfpack have only just been promoted to the Super League but they are clearly intent on making a statement in 2020. They have also been linked with England’s Manu Tuilagi, as well as fellow RWC star Semi Radradra, who also had a successful spell in league.
The new Super League season does not start until late January, with Toronto opening their schedule against Castleford as part of a double-header at Headingley on February 2.
WATCH: How RugbyPass reported Toronto's signing of Sonny Bill Williams
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Latest Comments
Unsuccessful bitter ex Ulster player taking a pop shot at a side that isn't including his consistently poor mates up north
Go to commentsHis decision to play in France isn’t a petulant decision as this article suggests. I reckon that France is the perfect place to demonstrate that he can mix it in those battles Rassie references. It’s a good decision to try get into the squad. My personal opinion is that he wins more battles than he loses. I don’t have Rassie’s stats machine behind me, but Daymian’s is so strong moving through traffic and in the rip.
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