Nine and Stan today announced that international sporting icon Sonny Bill Williams has joined Nine’s Wide World of Sports, working across both the rugby on Stan Sport, and NRL on Nine.
The announcement comes following the kick off of the 2021 Super Rugby AU and Super Rugby Aotearoa seasons on Stan Sport.
Sonny Bill Williams is a two-time Rugby World Cup champion, multiple time Bledisloe Cup champion, two-time NRL champion, Super Rugby champion, and an undefeated heavyweight boxing champion. Through these achievements he has earned his reputation as one of the world’s greatest athletes in recent decades.
The deal will see Williams join the Stan commentary team following the launch of the Super Rugby AU and Aoteroa competitions on Stan Sport, lining up alongside former Wallaby stars such as Tim Horan, Morgan Turinui and Drew Mitchell, and fellow All Blacks star Andrew Mehrtens.
Being a dual-code player, Williams will also form part of the NRL on Nine team, lending his experience and knowledge across the season, alongside other stars of the sport such as Andrew Johns, Brad Fittler, Billy Slater and Johnathan Thurston.
Speaking about his new roles, Sonny Bill Williams said: “I’m honoured to have this opportunity to join the Stan Sport and Nine team. Before I decided to step into this space I just asked myself that simple question: is it going to be challenging? And the answer was an overwhelming yes.
“I know I represent a lot of young Polynesian boys and young Kiwi boys. We represent so much on the field. But when it comes to off the field, we’re not really in this space. So just being able to jump into that space and see how we go, that’s what I’m looking forward to the most.”
Brent Williams, Nine’s director of sport, said: “We’re thrilled to have a once-in-a-generation athlete in Sonny Bill Williams join the Wide World of Sports family. His achievements across multiple codes are unrivalled and make him the perfect addition to our Rugby coverage on Stan Sport and our NRL team on Nine.”
To hear from Williams on his new appointment and what his future holds, tune in to Rugby Heaven at 8:00pm AEDT Tuesday, March 16th exclusively on Stan Sport.
Stan’s add-on sport package is available for $10 a month and customers can activate now to get a 30 day free trial for a limited time only.