Sonny Bill Williams' special lesson for daughter at Starship Hospital

All Black Sonny Bill Williams has revealed his joy in taking his daughter along to spend time with children at Auckland Starship Hospital.

The father of three has shared on Instagram a series of images with hospital staff, little patients and their families.

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Grateful to be able to use my platform as a sportsman to share positivity and grace on days like this. To be able to share this journey with my own children and teach them about empathy and compassion towards the less fortunate is a blessing. @starshipfoundation @quadecooper

A post shared by Sonny Bill Williams (@sonnybillwilliams) on Oct 17, 2018 at 11:57pm PDT

Williams captioned the photos: "Grateful to be able to use my platform as a sportsman to share positivity and grace on days like this. To be able to share this journey with my own children and teach them about empathy and compassion towards the less fortunate is a blessing."

In one snap, his daughter can be seen carrying a large bag down a hospital corridor. In another, the pair are spending time with a young family and their toddler in care.

SBW with his daughter and staff at Auckland Starship Hospital. Photo / Instagram

With his photos garnering over 26,000 likes overnight, fans of the sportsman were quick to applaud his charitable efforts.

One follower commented: "This hits home hard bro's (sic)" while another wrote: "Best lessons to teach our kids compassion & empathy."

And it turns out this isn't the first time Williams has given his time to Starship: A woman commented on the post that Williams had visited their daughter in PICU last year: "You rock," they wrote. "You stopped by my daughter in PICU last year. You said she had more hair than your youngest at the time. To teach and show your children empathy and compassion are the most important values a parent can demonstrate. Thank you."

A fan, confessing to being from South Africa, also commented on the hospital snaps, dubbing Williams "one of my favorite rugby players in the world ... always a gentleman to our boys."

Williams was accompanied by former Wallabies player Quade Cooper.

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Alhamdulillah what a nice surprise from my brother @quadecooper today! ❤️ love you uso

A post shared by Sonny Bill Williams (@sonnybillwilliams) on Oct 16, 2018 at 9:45pm PDT