Sonny Bill Williams: You Can't Stop the Sun from Shining

By Sonny Bill Williams

Book Overview

As a shy boy with an Aussie mum and a Samoan dad growing up in the suburbs of Auckland, Sonny Bill Williams thought about rugby league constantly. For him, the dream of playing professional NRL was so big that nothing else came close. Then, as an eighteen-year-old, Sonny Bill's dream came true. Making his firstgrade debut for the Canterbury Bulldogs, he would become an integral part of their premiership-winning team and be named Rookie of the Year. But the league culture of train hard, play hard and then party hard was a slippery slope for a naive teen. Too soon, the joy of winning gave way to an emptiness that not even footy could fix. Struggling, he made a decision that for many was unforgivable. He walked out on the Bulldogs. Scathing headlines and threatened lawsuits followed. But so too did the realisation that he couldn't run from the man in the mirror. A new chance in rugby union, along with a growing faith and commitment to Islam, gave Sonny Bill the space to deal with his demons, and he once again rose to sporting stardom. What followed were 58 Test caps for the All Blacks, 2011 and 2015 Rugby Union World Cups, another NRL premiership with the Roosters, a place in the 2015-16 World Rugby Sevens Series and the 2016 Olympics. He claimed a NZPBA and a WBA International Heavyweight Championship. His physicality, determination and focus would see him acknowledged as one of the greatest sportsmen in the world.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0733648967
• ISBN13: 9780733648960
• Release Date: March 2023
• Publisher: Hachette Australia
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.0" x 7.7"