Sydney (AFP)
New Zealand rugby superstar Sonny Bill Williams is set to return to play in Australia for the Sydney Roosters, rugby union club coach Trent Robinson said on Friday.
The two-time rugby union world champion returned to the XIII - where he started - in November by signing a lucrative two-year contract with the Toronto Wolfpack franchise.
But the Canadian club has just announced that it will not participate at the end of the Super League season, the most prestigious rugby union competition in Europe which is due to resume on August 2.
Robinson said he was confident that Sonny Bill Williams would come to the Roosters, for whom he played in 2013-14.
"We are in the process of chatting with Sonny," the coach said on the club's website.
"There are still small things to do for this to be settled but the exchanges are clear," he continued. "He won't be traveling until next week, it's hard to get a flight, then there will be quarantine."
"He is a Rooster and he will bring value in several key areas."
The coronavirus crisis is undeniably complicating matters: Mr Williams has a New Zealand passport and will need to obtain exemptions to travel directly to Australia with his wife and children.
He will then have to observe a 14-day quarantine period in Sydney, meaning he would only be available for the final four or five matches of the season.
© 2020 AFP