Sonny Bill Williams stands as a rare athlete who achieved prominence across both rugby union and rugby league codes while maintaining a concurrent career as a professional heavyweight boxer.
Early Development and League Beginnings
Raised in a state house in the Auckland suburb of Mount Albert, Williams attended Mount Albert Grammar School. Scouted by John Ackland while playing for the Marist Saints, he moved to Sydney in 2002 to join the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. As the youngest player ever signed to an NRL club at the time, he balanced professional training with full-time manual labour. In 2004, he debuted against the Parramatta Eels and secured a premiership title, becoming the youngest player to compete in an NRL Grand Final.
Twenty questions, eight minutes on the clock, and a percentile measured against everyone who has taken it. No sign-up.
Take the IQ test →Professional Rugby Career
Williams established himself as a fixture in New Zealand sports, earning 12 caps for the Kiwis in rugby league and 58 caps for the All Blacks in rugby union. He joined the ranks of the few who have won the Rugby World Cup twice, lifting the trophy in 2011 and 2015. His club journey included stints with the Crusaders, Chiefs, Blues, and Panasonic Wild Knights, alongside a 2020 campaign with the Toronto Wolfpack before a return to the Sydney Roosters.
International Competition and Boxing
Beyond the fifteen-man code, Williams represented New Zealand in rugby sevens during the 2015–16 World Rugby Sevens Series and competed at the 2016 Olympics. Parallel to his rugby commitments, he engaged in professional boxing, recording eleven bouts in the heavyweight division. He retired from professional rugby league and rugby union in March 2021.
Fast facts
- Born: 1985, Auckland
- Citizenship: New Zealand
- Sporting fields: Rugby league, rugby union, rugby sevens, boxing
- Education: Mount Albert Grammar School
- Professional debut: 2004 NRL season
- Rugby World Cup wins: 2011, 2015
- Religion: Islam
- Retirement from rugby: March 2021
Questions readers ask
Did Williams play for both the Kiwis and All Blacks?
Yes, he is one of the few athletes to represent New Zealand in both rugby league as a Kiwi and rugby union as an All Black.
What level of professional boxing did he reach?
He competed in eleven professional heavyweight boxing matches throughout his athletic career.
Achievements
- Represented Barbarian FC, New Zealand national rugby union team and RC Toulonnais
- Competed at rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Discipline: rugby union and rugby sevens
