A biography for Sonny Bill Williamshasn’t been written yet.
“Just like in rugby, the pinnacle was playing for the All Blacks. That was always a massive thing. But you never speak it outwardly because it can sound stupid. But if you don't have massive dreams, you might as well stay in bed.”
“Every rugby player in Australia and New Zealand or wherever they are from wants to play in the World Cup, and I am no different.”
“The pleasing thing is being able to be in an environment where, even though I'm a rookie, everyone wants to help you out.”
“I have learned from my mistakes... the business we are in is cutthroat. I have seen too many older blokes give their all for clubs, then be told they are not wanted. Even blokes still on contract are told to look elsewhere.”
“After that first month in Sydney, I went home for two weeks. I didn't want to ever go back because it was so hard.”
“I was never going to be a rocket scientist. But I found the field that I was blessed to be able to do, and I just put my whole effort into that.”
“I don't know if I'm going to be any good at sevens.”
“My old man never used to cook, so we lived on takeaway. The others were always jealous.”
“Boxing's not in my blood... it just grew on me.”
“I didn't feel that I really fit in anywhere. So when I was young I always had to prove myself through my sporting ability.”
“Being a young Kiwi lad, a young Polynesian boy, I was pretty close to my family. But when I moved to Sydney, I went from training twice a week, playing touch footy with my mates, to working full-time as a labourer and training professionally.”
“I guess you could say I have grown up, matured. I have seen a lot, and I guess that probably sums it up.”
“I like the challenge, week in, week out, of trying to play good, consistent footy.”
“Now I am just focusing on my daughter, my wife, religion, and training.”
“If you go about trying to please everyone, there's going to be endless struggles.”
“I want to push myself.”
“Every time you step out on that field, it's tough. There is no easy way to approach it and no short cuts out there.”
“One of my major goals off the field is to conduct myself in a way that... parents are proud to say, 'Oh yeah, look, he wants to be like Sonny Bill Williams.'”
“I'm a lot more comfortable in the ring. I'm comfortable catching punches, and defensively, I feel like I've improved a lot. I am banking on my athleticism. I've worked hard on my footwork.”
“I thought that if I could play rugby on TV, I'd be able to get my mum a house. That was the driving factor.”