You might think that in
order to become the star of a World Cup tournament, you have to score a
handful of stunning tries or kick your team to victory.
You might think that, but
you'd be wrong.
After drawing the biggest
cheer of the night on Friday at Eden Park when he exposed his chest (the All Blacks beat Tonga 41-10 in case you've forgotten), barely a page of the newspapers in New Zealand have been free of Sonny
Bill Williams's face.
Or more precisely,
barely a page of the papers have been free of Sonny Bill Williams's naked torso.
Williams's right shirt
sleeved ripped during the match causing the former rugby league
star to change his shirt on the pitch, much to the delight of female fans.
First journalists and his team-mates
teased him in a press conference after the match.
"I could hear the boys
giving me a hard time," Williams said. "In the heat of the moment ... I didn't
really think too much about it. Until I got back into the sheds afterwards and
the boys started to give me some stick.
"Especially [All
Blacks prop] Benny Franks. I think he's a little jealous.
"Benny's trying to
take me under his wing a bit. He reckons I'm all show, no go. Hopefully in the
next couple of weeks I can prove him wrong.''
Next, thousands of fans mobbed
Williams at an autograph signing session in Hamilton (about two hours south of
Auckland), waiting for up to three hours for a glimpse of the 26-year-old.
And now, four days on from
that match, the New Zealand Herald (New Zealand's leading paper) has put
together a sure-fire guide to help men "get ripped like SBW".
So, as it turns out, all
you have to do to become a star in New Zealand is take your shirt off.