Just to give people that don't know much about Sonny Bills league career an idea of how good he is, one of the all time greats of Australian Rugby league Laurie Daley said he was the best young player he'd ever seen and that he would probably go down as the best Rugby League player ever. He said this a week before he was to debut for the Bulldogs as an 18 (or was it 17 lol) year old.
Managed to see SBW at Twickenham couple of months ago, Canterbury vs Sharks. SBW lines up their number 8 and left shoulder charges him. A minute later, SBW lines up their wing but the wing steps him off and standing right behind him was big Owen Franks who copped it full on. Franks drops to one knee and SBW mumbles an apology then runs off to chase the play. Bloody Funny.
SBW is still a work in progress. The polished product is yet to come. Will be good to see how he goes against the Aussie & Saffer backlines in Super rugby.
One of the great big ball playing men of all time - he needs to get some length of stay - but he is a true legend - I dont give a fuck who you are - this man is one of the greatest athletes alive today....wish everyone didnt put all the shit on him, he's allowed to make mistakes you know - he's human just like the rest of us...but I'd pick him in my all time NRL team. Go SBW keep on keepin on mate..
@mattrudd14 SBW is samoan/new zealand thats why his skin colour is light i would know because he got his pe'a(samoan tribal tattoo) by the great steve maching(samoan/chinese)
as a wallabies supporter I am seriously worried as SBW is starting to really hit his straps running off Carter. Its great to see him open running in Rugby then doing dumb hit ups in League. making breaks without having 10 metres (as in League) to work off every time is the sign of a good player!! He will be one of the great All Blacks if he keeps his head in it!
he's played 7 games for an ITM club and one AB game in front of 85K at Twickenham. Did he create a try with his unique skill of take the men and offload? YES he did. He hasn't even started yet. His game is totally unique to any other player you will see. What did Nonu do against England? Fuck all. Did Nonu create a try? No. SBW lack a bit of confidence but that will come
He's certainly not the kind of player you'd want to run into on (or off) the field. The way he creates something from nothing is enviable, and his ability to actually PASS THE DAMN BALL when he needs to is excellent.
@chewblued Dumb Comment... There were offloads before SBW in Union and there will be offloads after SBW. He is just amazingly good at it and league has nothing to do with that. None of league players can make this kind of offloads. In fact no one can... except SBW!
@h7p10 Mate, look carefully. 3:08 The ball hit the touchline (inside the try zone) after hitting the post. This would have been ruled out even in League.
@TheRadFactor How do you know ! the tip of the ball didn't touch the blade of grass inside the in goal area ? ... HOW DO YOU KNOW ?, HOW ?. Did you see it from another angle ?
@jamesbond1157 So can tactical kicking, tough tackles, good side steps, great line out jumpers, powerful scrumming, strong running, accurate passing and a brain that can read the game in a split second. every professional player posses at least one of these qualities. Yet we do not place them on this pedestal at act like they are gods. Why is sonny an exception?
@Lavulo187 if you'd actually read/heard any interviews with SBW you would realise that he has is also a very modest guy. Just because theirs all this media hype about him doesn't mean its gone straight to his head so that he now thinks hes the best player ever... I think the potential that Williams offers the All Blacks is huge and if managed and played correctly he could grow into a real force in time for the World Cup.
@MrJakobBrown Maybe you should read my post properly and you might understand what I was saying. Laurie Daley talked about Sonny Bill possibly going down as the games greatest before his debut by the time he FINISHED his career. He didn't have a crystal ball and know that Sonny Bill was going to go to Rugby Union and he didn't state that he WAS the best (he hadn't even played his first game at the time LOL). If you want to read it for yourself it's in the first issue of Big League mag 2004.
If he is not picked to play for the All Blacks in the next World Cup, theres something wrong in the world........ and if he gets picked and the All Blacks don't win the World Cup with players like Carter, McCaw, Williams, Hayman, Muliaina.... than there is injustice in the World we live in.
@KaMaCaRz The only problem with his inclusion is that it means wither Nonu or Smith will have to be left out, both of which are world class players. Nonu is massive and can devastate on defense and attack, but without seeing any evidence of it I would have thought the combination of Smith and Williams would just work better (than Nonu + SBW). Though I'm not sure if Henry would actually have the guts to leave Nonu out, or if SBW would be worth disrupting that effective center partnership for...
Role model - SBW has not just magically appeared within the last 2 years you know. He has previous of various alcohol misdemeanours - not exactly role model behaviour. Special talent though, good luck to him in union but the sooner he's back home the better!
if I was in the all black management I'd keep Conrad Smith in the squad for as long as possible, he's even a possible future captain with the next in line being DC , kieran read and then him
0:38 Should I pass the ball? Nah.. May-be an offload? Nah. May-be I actually do pass the ball? Nah. You know what? I am going in. Yous all, catch me if ya can!