Toronto Wolfpack after Sonny Bill Williams or another top-five world rugby talent

TORONTO — The Toronto Wolfpack is looking to bring New Zealand star Sonny Bill Williams to Canada.

Majority owner David Argyle confirmed Thursday that the transatlantic rugby league team has had “active negotiations” with the agent for Williams, a powerful back who has excelled in both rugby union and league.

“The club continues to have a view that we want to attract the best rugby talent to come and play with us,” Argyle said in an interview Thursday. “We look at the best talent in the world — Sonny Bill is one of those talents.

“In 2018 there was an outreach by the club to Sonny Bill Williams’ agent for him to come here. We want to secure one of the top five rugby players in the world to come to Toronto. That continues to be our ambition. We’ll do everything possible … to get one of them here.”

Argyle called the 33-year-old Williams “a fantastic ambassador for the sport and a fantastic player.”

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“We’d love to have him come here,” he continued. “I know he’s got his hands full with the (Rugby) World Cup this year so we’ll be looking (at) securing him or another of the top five players in the world.”

Fox Sports Australia, citing sources, said the Wolfpack had offered Williams a one-year contract worth five million Australian dollars (C$4.7 million). Of course, the report also called Argyle a billionaire, which is likely gilding the lily.

Argyle, a Toronto-based Australian who works in the mining, energy and agriculture sectors often in emerging markets, is the driving force behind the Wolfpack.

The team started life in the third tier of English rugby league in 2017. It won promotion to the second-tier Betfred Championship with its performance in Year 1 and just missed out on promotion to the elite Super League last October in a 4-2 loss to London Broncos in a promotion showdown dubbed the Million Pound Game.

It currently tops the Betfred Championship at 3-0-0.

The team also has a minority stake in the third-tier London Skolars, with Argyle looking to showcase rugby league in other major European cities. He has looked at having the Wolfpack play a league game in Barcelona or Belgrade.

Like Major League Soccer, England’s rugby league has a salary cap with a partial exemption for marquee players. In rugby league, the salary cap is two million pounds (C$3.45 million). Teams can have two marquee players with each of their salary cap hits restricted to 150,000 pounds (C$258,790).

Toronto’s marquee players currently are Australian forward Darcy Lussick and Samoan international back Ricky Leutele.

Williams, a two-time World Cup winner, has made headlines in both rugby codes as well as trying his hand at boxing. He has represented New Zealand internationally in both rugby union and rugby league.

He was part of the New Zealand rugby sevens team at the 2016 Rio Olympics, partially rupturing an Achilles tendon in the All Blacks’ first match.

At six foot three and some 238 pounds, Williams is a forceful runner whose ability to offload the ball in a tackle extends attacks.

Williams left New Zealand for Australia as a 16-year-old to play rugby league in the NRL with the Canterbury in Sydney. In 2004 he became the youngest player to win an NRL premiership as the Bulldogs won the grand final.

He switched codes in 2008 to play rugby union for France’s Toulon. Williams left two years later, saying he wanted to play for the All Blacks. He made his New Zealand debut against England in 2010 and his cap count now stands at 51.

He has also played club rugby for the Crusaders, Chiefs and Blues in Super Rugby and Japan’s Panasonic.

In 2013-14, he switched codes again to play for the NRL’s Sydney Roosters.

Williams went 7-0-0 as a boxer between 2009 and 2015, earning the vacant New Zealand Professional Boxing Association heavyweight title in 2012 with a TKO win over Clarence Tillman.

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press