Sonny Bill Williams reveals the “biggest mistake” he made in his rugby league career

Sonny Bill Williams is one of the biggest names not just in rugby league or rugby union but wider sport itself.

He has had a very unique career winning NRL Grand Finals with the Canterbury Bulldogs and Sydney Roosters in the NRL, winning the World Cup in Rugby Union, playing Super League for Canadian side Toronto Wolfpack and has even tried his hand at boxing.

Such a career has no doubt brought lots of highs but as well as regrets and as Williams returned to Canterbury for the first time since he left under a cloud Williams emphasised one of his regrets of his long and glittering career,

“I said to the boys when I got down there, ‘I will speak about the elephant in the room straight away,‘” Williams told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“I said, ‘Yes, I left the club’. Would I do it again at that stage, at that moment? I probably would. But I would have done it a whole different way because I am very confident in the man I am today. I would have done it in a different way.

“I don’t regret leaving, but the thing I regret is not coming back into these four walls long ago. That was the biggest thing because when I went in there, it just felt like home.

“I’ve never had any beef with any of the players. The hierarchy at the time? Yes I did.

“You had a young, wild kid who didn’t know how to express his feelings and that was the end result. But it put me on the trajectory that I am now. It’s all about being a better man, first and foremost. To be a better man, you need to push yourself.

“I just said, ‘It was my biggest mistake because I love it here, you guys are very lucky to be in this club. You have not just a great squad but great people around that want this club to do well.’

“It was cool to see young, hungry men wanting to achieve goals together.”