The best of Sonny Bill Williams

SBW is back, named on the bench for his debut with the Blues – his third Super Rugby franchise – on Saturday. Jamie Wall reminds us why this is exciting.

The most talked about name in New Zealand rugby will take the field for the Blues against the Highlanders this Saturday, a mere 525 days since his last full game of rugby union. That game was, of course, the final of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Sonny Bill Williams has caused a fair amount of consternation among fans of both codes on both sides of the Tasman. But love him or hate him, he has provided us with some of the sweetest moments in union and league ever since he burst onto the scene as a teenager.

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The turning point in the World Cup final

Conrad Smith was seen as a bedrock of consistency and defensive excellence in All Blacks rugby, but that didn’t mean a damn thing in the last Rugby World Cup final. After a pretty pedestrian first half, Smith was hooked at half-time for SBW. The midfield sub took all of two minutes to make his mark on the most important match of his life, throwing a beautiful offload to set up Ma’a Nonu for the game’s crucial try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i25yJafKFqw

Premiership on a handshake

OK, so Sonny might have raised the hackles of Bulldogs fans over the last decade and a bit by walking out midseason to play rugby for Toulon in 2005. However, he made it up to rugby league by triumphantly returning in 2012 and winning a premiership the following season. To be fair, Bulldogs fans are still probably pissed off with him because said premiership was with the Sydney Roosters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LixpWrqHXuU

Teaching a lesson in horizontology

SBW’s biggest threat is his offloading game, so tackling him around the legs is a bit pointless. But going high also carries a fair degree of risk, as this poor Southlander found out in an ITM Cup match. Just remember, this handoff was five metres out from SBW’s own line, which makes the act of taking Matt Saunders soul, devouring it and causing his ancestors to weep in the afterlife just that much more painful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asAXhYxSCto

This run in the 2011 World Cup

Yeah, it’s Japan, but still. This beautiful curving run was the first time SBW really showed off his skill set in a black jersey, after mainly playing a distributing role in his provincial matches. He then decided to heap more misery on the Japanese, spending the 2012-13 season with the Panasonic Wild Knights in their domestic competition. His presence in the country wasn’t just to smack local players around though. He played a big part in raising rugby’s profile and helping Japan win their bid for the 2019 World Cup.

https://youtu.be/wSTFO5NcjbY?t=2m52s

That shoulder

Gone are the days of the shoulder charge, and we all miss it dearly. All of us except those who found themselves on the end of any of SBW’s perfectly-timed shoulder charges, that is. He did also manage to throw in a few sneaky hits when he switched codes… mainly because most union refs were probably starstruck by being on the same field as the superstar and were looking forward to getting a selfie with him at full time.