Rugby legend Sonny Bill Williams: ‘My heart stopped’

Dual-code rugby icon Sonny Bill Williams has revealed he recently underwent life-saving open-heart surgery after doctors discovered a congenital heart defect during a routine checkup.

The 41-year-old former All Black shared that the condition – present since birth – was discovered incidentally during follow-up care for a neck operation.

Medical experts warned him that the issue posed a severe risk of sudden cardiac death, calling it a “miracle” that it was detected before a fatal event occurred.

Following successful surgery, Williams declared it his new mission to raise public awareness about the crucial need for regular heart checks, emphasising that even elite, peak-fitness athletes can harbour hidden cardiovascular risks.

The health scare marks a dramatic chapter for one of modern sport’s most versatile super-athletes. Williams burst onto the scene in rugby league, winning an NRL premiership with the Canterbury Bulldogs.

He later crossed codes to rugby union, earning 58 caps for New Zealand and winning back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles with the All Blacks in 2011 and 2015. He also captured another NRL title with the Sydney Roosters and competed as a professional heavyweight boxer.

Sonny Bill Williams highlights health scare

In a long video documenting the health issue on his YouTube channel, the 41-year-old Williams said doctors told him that having a heart defect would have affected his sporting career had it been known at the time.

In footage taken after heart surgery, Williams said it was a success, while expressing gratitude for a ‘second chance’ at life.

“Upon reflecting, I feel like toward my late 20s, I definitely felt like I couldn’t get as fit as I used to,” he said.

“The doctors both said it is a miracle that you found it (the defect) because it’s a case of a perfectly fit-looking person dropping dead.”

FRIGHTENING EXPERIENCE

Speaking from inside the hospital, Williams said he has a “better heart than when I walked in here”, but admitted it could have been so different.

“My heart stopped for hours,” Williams said in a YouTube video. “I told you I always had a big heart.”

The bombshell video comes just days after it was confirmed that Lions lock had died from ‘a tear in the aorta (due to natural causes), which led to a significant accumulation of blood within the sac surrounding the heart’.”