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Thread: Sonny Bill Williams is scary, Wallabies back Ryan Cross says

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    Sonny Bill Williams is scary, Wallabies back Ryan Cross says

    By Bret Harris
    June 01, 2009 Ryan Cross has described Sonny Bill Williams as "scary" as Australia prepare to take on the former rugby league star in the Barbarians match in Sydney on Saturday night.

    While Cross was referring to the powerful Williams's knock-out of Gary Gurr in his boxing bout in Brisbane last Wednesday night, the description applies equally to his physical presence on the football field.

    "He looked a bit scary, didn't he?" Cross said. "He has always been big and strong. He obviously dominated the guy he fought. He was impressive to watch."

    Cross played against Williams several times in rugby league, including the Bulldogs' win against Sydney Roosters in the 2004 NRL grand final.

    In rugby league, the opposition tried to reduce Williams's time and space, which was about the only way to shut him down.

    "He is very athletic and his ability to offload is his biggest asset," Cross said.
    "Cut down his time and space is the main thing. If he gets a head of steam and gets his confidence up, he is hard to stop.

    "You can't give him too much room because he is a big man and he is hard to pull down."

    Test winger Lote Tuqiri, meanwhile, said that his fellow convert was keen to prove a point to detractors after he walked out on the Bulldogs last year to join French rugby club Toulon.

    "He is looking forward very much to the game," Tuqiri said. "It's his biggest test to date. He wants to impress, being back in Sydney.

    "There's a lot of people for him to ... not shut up, but he's got a lot of knockers out there so there's a lot of people for him to prove a point to."

    Tuqiri said that Williams demonstrated a good understanding of rugby when he spoke to him last week.

    "He's not dumb. He's got a good grasp of the game," Tuqiri said.

    "He did say that in the first games he was getting up off the ground and running back 10 metres, but he's going alright now.

    "I'm sure that won't happen. But if I'm lucky enough to get out there and play against him, I'll be reminding him of that 10 metres.

    "He is looking forward to playing guys like Stirlo (Stirling Mortlock) and Ryan Cross and the like. He has to put his best foot forward and I think they (the Barbarians) are going to give him a good platform, judging by the win they got against England on the weekend.

    "I forgot how big he is. I was actually looking up at him. He is tall and wiry and there is also a lot of muscle there. It's going to be hard to pull him down and not let him pass in contact.

    "I'm sure he will be worrying about Stirlo as well. Stirlo's a big boy. They are both big boppas and they both run hard and straight. That contest alone will be worth the entry price."

    Mortlock was looking forward to confronting Williams at outside centre.
    "The prospect of marking Sonny Bill, who is an extremely gifted athlete, is a really positive one," Mortlock said.

    "I'm sure likewise he is excited to be playing and testing himself in a code that he has only been playing for a year or so."

    While Williams has only played rugby for one season, Wallabies coach Robbie Deans believes he has had enough time to make the transition.

    "If you think you are going to see a bloke who is a fish out of water, that won't be the case," Deans said.

    "He has had a full season of division one rugby in France. He's got that under his belt and he is capable. He will be pretty clear in his own mind and keen to impose himself.

    "He is an unknown quantity in so far as he hasn't played at this level in union before, but he has got a pretty significant background in union now.

    "He'll bring a fair amount of composure. A fair amount of clarity within his game. His decision-making in the game should be pretty well established."

    http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...016959,00.html

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    Veteran robyn <3's Avatar
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    Uugh. 4 sentences from Ryan Cross, when really it's the Turkey's (lack of) brain whose behind all the mayhem.

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