All Blacks' Williams agrees to join Toronto Wolfpack

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VIDEO SHOWS: FILE OF NEW ZEALAND CENTRE AND TWICE WORLD CUP WINNER SONNY BILL WILLIAMS TRAINING

SHOWS:

BEPPU, JAPAN (SEPTEMBER 30, 2019) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

1. SONNY BILL WILLIAMS, WHO HAS AGREED TO JOIN THE TORONTO WOLFPACK, WARMING UP DURING A TRAINING SESSION WITH HIS NEW ZEALAND SQUAD

TOKYO, JAPAN (SEPTEMBER 17, 2019) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

2. WILLIAMS CATCHING BALL THEN THROWING IT

3. ALL BLACKS TRAINING

4. WILLIAMS WARMING UP

TOKYO, JAPAN (OCTOBER 25, 2018) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

5. WILLIAMS TRAINING

6. WILLIAMS DOING PRESS UPS

TOKYO, JAPAN (SEPTEMBER 20, 2019) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

7. WILLIAMS CATCHING BALL

8. TEAM TRAINING

9. WILLIAMS CATCHING BALL THEN THROWING IT

STORY: New Zealand centre and twice World Cup winner Sonny Bill Williams has agreed to join the Toronto Wolfpack rugby league team ahead of their debut in England's top-tier Super League next year, the Canadian side said on Thursday (November 7).

The move marks a fourth code switch for 34-year-old Williams, who will be formally introduced next Thursday in a news conference at the Emirates Stadium in London, the home of Premier League soccer team Arsenal.

The terms of the deal for Williams, who is of Samoan descent, were not disclosed but media reports said he had accepted a two-year, $10 million offer, which would make it the largest contract in the league's history.

The signing is being compared to England soccer international David Beckham joining the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007, putting a global spotlight on Major League Soccer and raising the sport's profile in North America.

Williams, who won bronze at the Rugby World Cup last week after the All Blacks fell to England in the semi-finals, brings plenty of star power to a transatlantic team who started in the third tier of English rugby league in 2017.

Williams, who lifted the World Cup with the All Blacks in 2011 and 2015, won the National Rugby League Premiership in 2004 with the Bulldogs and in 2013 with the Sydney Roosters.

Williams will be expected to help the Wolfpack win trophies but he will also be counted on to bring in new fans and grow the sport not only in Toronto but across the county by turning the club into a Canadian brand in much the same way that the NBA's Toronto Raptors and MLB's Blue Jays have done.

(Production: Andy Ragg, Kurt Michael Hall)