Sonny Bill Williams

“The thing I enjoy is that I have come to league as a union player, and I have to adapt to different situations I am facing.”

“I think the reason I hadn't fought was just the aftermath of the Botha fight. You put so much into a fight, and people just talk about it like it was a bit of a farce or something.”

“To be part of something special, to be an Olympian and have the chance to win a medal - it's an amazing feeling.”

“You can't have eyes on the wall, or the angels won't come in. That's what we believe.”

“I didn't feel that I really fit in anywhere. So when I was young I always had to prove myself through my sporting ability.”

“Every time you step out on that field, it's tough. There is no easy way to approach it and no short cuts out there.”

“I'm a lot more comfortable in the ring. I'm comfortable catching punches, and defensively, I feel like I've improved a lot. I am banking on my athleticism. I've worked hard on my footwork.”

“I had to work on the fundamentals of the game because in league, the position I played, it was just bash and crash.”

“That's the beautiful thing about being a father for the first time; it has really made me get my concentration levels in check.”

“Beforehand you think, 'Oh, changing nappies - I'm going to be up; I need to get sleep for training.' But when it happens, when you're there, as soon as you hear a wiggle or a cough or someth...”

“For myself, it's trying to do my best in whatever I am doing. At this time, it is boxing; then when I get home, I want to be the best father, the best husband, the best man I can be.”

“I've had an amazing ride. I've been blessed beyond things that I could never have imagined.”

“I guess I've always had a - not really thought of myself as this big star, big identity in the game.”

“I don't want to let my family down; I don't want to let myself down. That's probably the biggest thing I fear.”

“The biggest thing for me is earning the respect of my fellow players and coaches. I think that is why I was a little bit emotional. You don't get a haka done to you from the brothers for no...”

“My biggest challenge for myself is to be the best father I can be and be the best husband I can be.”

“One of my major goals off the field is to conduct myself in a way that... parents are proud to say, 'Oh yeah, look, he wants to be like Sonny Bill Williams.'”

“I was never going to be a rocket scientist. But I found the field that I was blessed to be able to do, and I just put my whole effort into that.”

“Seeing my daughter for the first time after I came back from the tour was just a life-changing experience... it still blows my mind.”

“If a lawyer, if a teacher, if a bus driver, if they're on $40,000 and they get offered a lot more to go somewhere else, what do you think they're going to do?”