NEW ZEALAND – Leading his team in the Olympics, Sonny Bill Williams, a two-time World Cup winner and Super Rugby title holder in rugby union, has become a reluctant hero whose star can only glow brighter now if he guides New Zealand to gold at Rio.
“To be able to say you’re an Olympian and get a medal, that’d just be another level,” Williams told ESPN.
“It would be unbelievable. I get butterflies just thinking about it. God willing it all works out.”
Williams, a Muslim player, is a two-time World Cup winner and Super Rugby title holder in rugby union and is a belt-holder in national boxing.
He was included in New Zealand’s Rugby Sevens Olympic squad last July 3, finding a chance to pursue his long awaited dream.
“I try and not let that dictate my life,” Williams said.
“I let my family and religion dictate that. Although I’m not perfect, I know where my happy place is.
“I can veer off course but that’s where I have to get back to. That’s what I try and focus on. I’m a rugby player, this or that, but that’s not my whole life. That doesn’t dictate who I am. I know who I really am, what I stand for and try and get back to that.”
Born in 1985, Williams a top-notch rugby star in New Zealand.
He reverted to Islam in 2008 after attending prayer services at a Sydney mosque. The superstar is the first Muslim to play for the All Blacks rugby team.
Williams became a house hold name after giving his Rugby World Cup winners’ medal to a young pitch invader following the conclusion of last year’s final.
He acted after seeing a security guard tackle a young pitch invader during the All Blacks’ lap of honor following their 34-17 Rugby World Cup final victory over Australia.
New Zealand Sevens star Tim Mikkelson said Williams could “do stuff that no one in the team is able to do”, before adding he had also “grown the game of rugby worldwide”.
Scott Curry, the captain, said Williams was “fully committed to sevens” but also “brings a lot of exposure and publicity to rugby”.
Happy Muslim
Away from Williams’ profession and teammates, his life revolves around his family, wife Alana and daughter Imaan, and his Muslim faith.
“[I’m happiest] when I’m doing my five prayers, when I’m around my family a lot and when that takes centre stage,” Williams said.
Religion, coupled with his passion for boxing, has connected his dreams with the great Muhammad Ali, who reverted to Islam soon after triumphing at the 1960 Olympics.
“His faith [was inspiring] and I guess, though he didn’t always say the right things, he always backed it up,” Williams said.
“I appreciate that from an athlete. I can only imagine the scrutiny and amount of people that would want to see him fail. But he kept on trucking on.
“There was that fight against George Foreman where no one expected him to win, the odds were stacked against him but somehow he did. It showed the character of him, the man he was.
“It wasn’t just about his mouth, he had something deep inside him that allowed him to go to those dark places and come out on top.”
Williams’ search for the gold will commence with his first touch of the ball in Rio.
“When the Olympics are on when you are a youngster, the telly is on, all day every day. You see the competitors competing,” he said. “It’s an awesome spectacle.
“From an athlete’s point of view, for me, there was no one bigger than Ali. He’s my man. He won a gold medal, he was an Olympian and it would be awesome to say I am an Olympian as well.”