He’s did it once before and now he’s done it again.
After handing out his Rugby World Cup winner’s medal to a starstruck fan last October, Sonny Bill Williams has made another young child’s dreams come true.
The New Zealand star, whose side finished second in the Hong Kong Sevens, gave eight-year-old Coop Rodda a moment he’ll never forget by handing over his runners-up cup to the stunned boy.
Rodda was all smiles after Williams gave him the silver memento after New Zealand had lost out in Sunday’s final to Fiji.
“Ok, so yesterday Sonny Bill Williams signed Coops autograph book and we were absolutely thrilled!!! Can I tell you what he did today… NZ lost to Fiji in HK 7’s and after they collected their own runner up cups, the team walked past us and I called out to Sonny to have a selfie with us. Not only did he take the selfie, he gave Coops his runner up cup!!!! What a bloody legend,” wrote Tan Guerin on Facebook.
Williams made a similar gesture at last year’s Rugby World Cup when he gave his medal to 14-year-old Charlie Lines after the teenager had run onto the field of play to congratulate the player.
Stewards wrestled Lines to the ground as he ran onto the field at Twickenham before Williams took control of the situation, leading the boy towards the stand where he handed over his medal.
At the time of the event, the player explained the reasoning behind his instinctive reaction: “A young fella snuck onto the field somehow but when he was coming up to give me a hug, he got smoked by a security guard, full-on tackled him.
“The other fella was a big man so he was lucky he didn’t break his ribs or something. I think the moment got the better of him but he was just so excited to get onto the field with the All Blacks. I just thought I’d make it a night to remember for him.
“Rather than have the medal hanging up at home, it’s going to hanging around that young fella’s neck. He can tell that story for a long time to come.”
Williams was given a replacement medal by World Rugby.
