![Survivor Sonny Bill finds a new payday](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/1686/494352/5f279d97ea8f7/Survivor-Sonny-Bill-finds-a-new-payday.jpg)
Sonny Bill Williams has not been seen in his natural habitat since confronting a herd of stampeding Rhinos on a chilly night at Headingley a fortnight before lockdown.
The Great All-Rounder would have been spotted briefly before he and his brand new team disappeared beneath an avalanche of tries. The Toronto Wolfpack lasted all of six matches en route to joining the Blackpool Panthers, Kent Invicta, North Sydney Bears and others buried in the graveyard of over-ambition.
The Canadians are adamant that what killed them off had nothing to do with any over-exposure to Super League, that they, too, were victims of Covid-19 and the ‘overwhelming financial problems’ caused by the pandemic. Paying their star performer £50,000-a-week would hardly have eased the crisis.
Williams had only been five matches into a two-year contract worth £5m, a deal which supposedly made him the highest-paid rugby player on the planet, at 34. Unlike normal humans, the older he gets, the more he seems to earn but then Sonny Bill has never conformed to the norms of sporting life.
While his accountants work on limiting the damage to his Wolfpack agreement, the man himself is understood to have signed a new one back in more familiar territory. He will spend his 35th birthday tomorrow preparing for another come-back, not with any down-and-almost-out bunch on the skid row of Leagueies but the best in the business.
The Sydney Roosters, triple NRL champions, believe Williams will help extend their rule over the domestic game. Unmoved by claims from some straight-talking English observers that the All Blacks’ ‘legs have gone’, the Roosters’ are sure he has enough left in both to justify forking out around £80,000 for the last four rounds of the season.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 02, 2020-Ausgabe von The Rugby Paper.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 02, 2020-Ausgabe von The Rugby Paper.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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![Tykes out to get it right this time](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1686/1817782/7c2u7HFYy1725270183872/TYKES-OUT-TO-GET-IT-RIGHT-THIS-TIME.jpg)
Tykes out to get it right this time
LEEDS Tykes are embracing their big club mentality and heavy favourites tag ahead of the new season getting underway on Saturday.
![Devoto to make the difference for Titans](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1686/1817782/rBcTHTg4q1725269893635/DEVOTO-TO-MAKE-THE-DIFFERENCE-FOR-TITANS.jpg)
Devoto to make the difference for Titans
TWO sides have dropped down from National One into the West meaning it would be hard to look past one of Cinderford or Taunton Titans bouncing straight back up.
![Heald predicts a four-way battle](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1686/1817782/P97ahYbxB1725269782213/HEALD-PREDICTS-A-FOURWAY-BATTLE.jpg)
Heald predicts a four-way battle
THIS season is a golden opportunity for one of last season’s title contenders to take advantage and win promotion as no team has dropped down from National One into the East.
![Shanahan: We need to create fear factor](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1686/1817782/oSR2OFcZo1725269627992/SHANAHAN-WE-NEED-TO-CREATE-FEAR-FACTOR.jpg)
Shanahan: We need to create fear factor
NATIONAL One gets underway next weekend and supporters will expect another enthralling campaign with jeopardy throughout.
![Price glad he played under old regime](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1686/1817782/zlZOPb3lB1725269510689/PRICE-GLAD-HE-PLAYED-UNDER-OLD-REGIME.jpg)
Price glad he played under old regime
AT Pontypool Park on September 24, 1986, with the sweet chestnut trees in full autumnal regalia, the faithful rolled up without the foggiest clue that they were about to see something they had never seen before. And would never see again.
![Energetic thinking urgently required](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1686/1817782/0CkDw_FyT1725269358394/ENERGETIC-THINKING-URGENTLY-REQUIRED.jpg)
Energetic thinking urgently required
CRITICAL supporters of Bristol in the late amateur era believed their team was being straitjacketed by a rigidly traditional committee structure driven primarily by the pursuit of a better yesterday.
![Holmes hoping to make his mark with Scottish](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1686/1817782/ZTmd25LZm1725269277571/HOLMES-HOPING-TO-MAKE-HIS-MARK-WITH-SCOTTISH.jpg)
Holmes hoping to make his mark with Scottish
WHEN it comes to player movement this summer, English rugby’s normal merry go round has been somewhat of a slow spin, a reminder of the fragility the game still has as it looks to work its way out of the woes left by Covid.
![Barker determined to hit the heights at Bristol](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1686/1817782/HKnQ_QY-Y1725269200037/BARKER-DETERMINED-TO-HIT-THE-HEIGHTS-AT-BRISTOL.jpg)
Barker determined to hit the heights at Bristol
Paul Rees talks to Steele Barker, a young player who was once told he was too small to make it in the second row
![Round 1 to Boks in battle of the big beasts](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1686/1817782/KrKOt30xN1725268986992/ROUND-1-TO-BOKS-IN-BATTLE-OF-THE-BIG-BEASTS.jpg)
Round 1 to Boks in battle of the big beasts
RASSIE Erasmus won the battle of the coaches against Scott Robertson as his South African Bomb Squad – headed by Malcolm Marx – got the Springboks over the line and kept them on track for the Rugby Championship.
![England must find answers ...and fast](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1686/1817782/SdRjzUIo41725268876473/ENGLAND-MUST-FIND-ANSWERS-AND-FAST.jpg)
England must find answers ...and fast
THE coaching churn that was a canker during the Eddie Jones’ tenure as England head coach has now spread to Steve Borthwick’s regime.