Rugby: Sonny Bill's NRL cuppa not fazing rugby chiefs

Sonny Bill's NRL meetings do not phase the NZRU. Photo / APN

Rugby chiefs are relaxed about Sonny Bill William's latest finger-flipping gesture to the sport, as the flighty talent appears to be on the verge of signing a multimillion-dollar package to join the Sydney Roosters.

When asked to comment on Williams being seen with the bosses of the Sydney Roosters and Channel Nine at a central Sydney cafe, the New Zealand Rugby Union referred instead to comments made when Williams officially became a Chief in October.

The NZRU's manager of professional rugby, Neil Sorensen, said then that though the NZRU was delighted Williams had committed to the national body for 2012, they were aware he wanted to keep his options open for 2013 and that there were a lot of teams interested in him.

One of those teams is the Sydney Roosters, a "glamour" club that has been light on success in recent years. Williams loves the limelight, and a move to the Roosters would certainly appeal to a big-fish-in-a-small-pond mentality, rather than the fringe player he was with the All Blacks at last year's Rugby World Cup.

How a move back to Sydney marries with his statement that he left the Crusaders for the Chiefs to be closer to his mum in Auckland is anybody's guess.

Williams and his manager, Khoder Nasser, were pictured with Roosters chairman Nick Politis and Channel Nine boss David Gyngell, who was once on the club's board, at a cafe on Circular Quay in a shot that screamed out "set-up".

Williams is in Sydney preparing for a heavyweight boxing bout against Richard Tutaki on February 8. The Chiefs kick off their season against the Highlanders in Hamilton 17 days later.

His signing with the NZRU for 2012 was protracted. He promised to have it cleared up before the World Cup but reneged on that after a row with the national body over a sponsorship opportunity with an energy drinks company (he is now the face of an advertising campaign with All Blacks drinks sponsor Powerade).

There was always the sense that he was just marking time until a clause in his release from the Bulldogs, which said he could not play for a rival NRL club, expired. He walked out on them in 2008.

His apparent impending departure - Sydney's Sunday Telegraph reported he had signed a five-year contract at A$800,000 a year - will therefore come as no shock to rugby bosses, but they will be disappointed after bending over backwards to accommodate the 26-year-old's whims.

"Sonny Bill has been fantastic for rugby," NZRU chief executive Steve Tew said. "The interest he has brought to the game, the new people he has brought to the game, and even the way he's played has been absolutely outstanding."