SBW saga: Superstar to stay in Rugby League

The official announcement is yet to come but Sonny Bill Williams should remain with the Sydney Roosters after the New Zealand Rugby Union revealed that he will not rejoin the All Blacks next year.
The superstar centre, who helped the Sydney Roosters win the NRL title last Sunday, was heavily rumoured to head back to rugby union with a three-year deal at the Chiefs and even met with them in Sydney yesterday but in yet another U-turn in the saga he should stay put in 2014.
Earlier this week, SBW hit the headlines when he decided not to play in the Rugby League World Cup before changing his mind hours later prompting head coach Stephen Kearney to drop Tohu Harris from his initial squad.
NZRU’s General Manager Professional Rugby Neil Sorensen, who was at the meeting in Sydney, said in a statement: “We obviously worked pretty hard to bring Sonny home, and we have had some really good conversations with him,” Sorensen said in a statement.
“This is disappointing but we know we put our best foot forward, and in the end Sonny has made his decision.”
Meanwhile, the Roosters said Williams had committed to playing for the club next year, although nothing had been signed.
A statement read: “The club anticipates that Williams will officially sign in mid-February 2014 for the remainder of the season on the same terms and conditions as his 2013 contract.”
Chiefs head coach Dave Rennie said he had not given up hope of eventually luring Williams back though.
“While we are disappointed that Sonny won’t be with us in 2014 now, we’ll be keen to keep talking to him about future options,” he said.