Sonny Bill Williams News + Progress in ITM Cup

[cyRil]

Massive signing but wished he had signed for Hawkes Bay instead.

Or Taranaki. Can we send Spratt back down there? Turns out he's only good in New Zealand

 

[Muzzy]

Some poor darky's gonna miss their spot in the team? If anything theres Fotuali'i, SBW, Fuean and Maitland that are all "darky's".....

yes and one of them is gonna end up on the bench for this season, probably Fotuali'i, they'll probably start andy ellis ahead of him like they did during the s14 semi finals i'm just joking btw

 

[MichaelBoard]

So is this bloke any good then? I havn't actually seen him play before but with all the hype surrounding him I gather he must be good. Is he good enough to force his way into Graham Henry's thinking and get to the World Cup in 2011?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I think he's good, and getting better. He only switched across from league two seasons ago, but has taken to it. He was fantastic in league, though
He's not as good as the hype will lead you to believe, but is a strong runner, and a good offloader. He's also very agile,
I don't think he'll be in the squad for 2011, just because he'll have what, 6months? to prove himself in super 14 before they'll start selecting WC squads. I do think he'll be in the squad at some point.
It's a shame he's moved down when he did, if he'd have gone a few months earlier then he'd have probably made the NZ Maori squad

 

[TyphoonsRugby]

Dude, I'm pretty sure he's Samoan....

 

[TRF_Olyy]

So he is,
Someone told me he was of Maori decent before, my bad

 

[TyphoonsRugby]

He holds a Samoan passport along with his NZ one.

 

[Darwin]

I think he's good, and getting better. He only switched across from league two seasons ago, but has taken to it. He was fantastic in league, though
He's not as good as the hype will lead you to believe, but is a strong runner, and a good offloader. He's also very agile,
I don't think he'll be in the squad for 2011, just because he'll have what, 6months? to prove himself in super 14 before they'll start selecting WC squads. I do think he'll be in the squad at some point.
It's a shame he's moved down when he did, if he'd have gone a few months earlier then he'd have probably made the NZ Maori squad

He has enough time to make the RWC squad (assuming he's good enough) - he will play in the NPC for Canterbury (starting at the end of next month) and if he plays well they will take him on the end of year tour to the Northern Hemisphere. Playing for Canterbury and the Crusaders is probably the best way to get him up to speed with NZ rugby quickly.

In understand he has been playing mainly at 12 for his French club. He could potentially play 12 for Canterbury along side Fruean in the Canterbury and Crusaders midfield - that would be a huge (and very talented) midfied, but I do wonder whether these two players would gel together, as they are quite similar players. During the NPC he may play a bit at 13 with someone like Crotty, Brett, or Bleyendaal inside him, to see how he goes in that position.

 

[Muzzy]

what about as a lock or loose forward?

 

[MunsterMan]

Pretty sure of the current All Blakcs loose forwards only Vito is heavier. SBW is a big boy.

 

[MunsterMan]

Just looked it up, 1.93m and 109kg. ****. Nonu is only 104kg, Kaino is 105kg, McCaw is 106kg. He is the same weight as Vito.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Think SBW would be wasted as a lock,
Could do well as a Pierre Spies-esque 8, though i think his future lies at centre

 

[Conal]

be a beast on the wing nd is he more of an outside center than inside

 

[Jake Heke]

SBW will do great no doubt about that, hes awesome at offloading the ball, and no questioning his defensive capabilities.

And hes Maori/Samoan, my cousin grew up with his two twin sisters, went to high school with them.

Glad he has returned to the land of the long white cloud, i will be supporting harrrd through the NPC!

 

[Jake Heke]

be a beast on the wing nd is he more of an outside center than inside

Hrmm, nah wing is definitely not his position.

Hes got speed and hes agile, I think his main attribute is his offloading skills, so i think 12 or 13 will be is main positions.

 

[TyphoonsRugby]

He's been playing 12 for most of his career after they swapped him around a bit, once he got a combination going with Wilko he was pretty much a dead set 12 so if he can do it with Carter he'll play very well.

 

[SelimNiai]

At that size and with the attributes you guys say he has, I've barley seen him play, he sounds a natural and almost old-school 12

 

[ranger]

Or Taranaki. Can we send Spratt back down there? Turns out he's only good in New Zealand

Spratt wasn't even good in NZ! That clown Ross bought a lot of NH players with him when he got the Taranaki job, without even checking if they were needed. Spratt did an alright job but he was keeping a better player in Nathan Hohaia on the bench, the media hyped Spratt up as this great signing but he wasn't really that good.

 

[Darwin]

He will definitely play in the mid-field. The NZRFU signed him up so they could potentially have him for the RWC (assuming he's good enough) - with the RWC just over a year away there is not enough time to teach him the intricacies of loose-forward play, even if they wanted to.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

He will definitely play in the mid-field. The NZRFU signed him up so they could potentially have him for the RWC (assuming he's good enough) - with the RWC just over a year away there is not enough time to teach him the intricacies of loose-forward play, even if they wanted to.

I dont understand why people think that he does not understand how to play at centre. He has just spent two seasons in a good standard of French rugby and has played outside two good fly halves in Mehrtens and Wilkinson. He was okay in his first season and he got use to it but he played very well in his second season. I do admit playing NPC / ITM / S15 rugby will be different but I don't think he will struggle as some would believe.