Funny you should mention Sonny Bill.
I was thinking the club should contact him and show him the tape, ask his advice/what he would have found helpful at 17 with the talent he has.
I would play to Sonny's ego - use the analogy of the IP man meets the kid Bruce Lee...I would say things like 'we really don't want to mess this up, we know what we have on our hands, we can't think of anyone else in our code that would get this kid'.....
"Obviously we would remunerate you for your time and intellectual property Mr Williams" yadda yadda.
The thing Williams has that sets him apart, is his balance. Name a skill in football required of a forward and he has it well developed, there are no weaknesses, he pretty much has the full deck of cards - Size, speed, power, agility, skill, intelligence, aggression, endurance, competitiveness.
Bishop Neal arguably is more blessed than Sonny was as a teen in a handful of skills, I think Bishop has better hands than a young Sonny, and I think he is certainly more powerful.
But the skill Neal has that rivals Sonny, which gets me wildly excited is his vision and selfless humility with the ball. When Neal makes one of the breaks down the side line he is looking inside, outside, inside while his coach yells "just go...just go....just go" and that is because it is Rugby Union, forwards aren't meant to create second phase ball movement in school rugby.
Anyway, hook him up with Williams if he is the kind of kid that can cope with saying no thanks every time Sonny invites him to the local mosque.
We paid Andrew Johns to do the same with SJ.
Go early, start a friendship, inspire the young fellah with the best New Zealand forward of a generation.
