Sonny Bill Williams reveals he spent four months in a wheelchair

Sonny Bill Williams had a special message for Kiwi kids. Photo / YouTube

Sonny Bill Williams, who now excels at pretty much anything he tries to do, spent four months in hospital on a wheelchair when he was 6 years old due to severe burns on his legs.

The All Blacks player revealed this and other interesting facts about his life to Eru, an 11-year-old Starship patient, who's been at the hospital receiving specialist treatment for rheumatic fever.

"Just like you, I was in a wheelchair," he told Eru, recalling playing games of soft touch and tackle rugby on the wheelchair with other patients. "It was a tough time at that stage in my life," he said, but adds he has some good memories from it too.

Eru interviewed Sonny Bill for a special episode of the "Inside Starship" series and, before getting him to sign his Blues rugby ball, he asked some seriously good questions.

He found out that, much like himself - and possibly the average Kiwi kid - SBW as a child was good at "eating and being naughty".

Eru also asked Sonny Bill to share his favourite memory from the All Blacks. The player singled out his first match wearing the black jersey and said he had never seen an All Blacks game live before his debut with the team, which made the moment all the more special.

"And doing the haka, that was pretty choice," he added.

Eru, whose local rugby club is the Whakarewarewa Rugby Community Sports Inc, also asked Sonny Bill to share the one thing he thinks all kids should know.

The All Blacks player had some solid advice: "Be confident in who you are and what you stand for, as long as you are being a good person."

Williams was the latest of a series of guests for the "Inside Starship" series, which aims to share the extraordinary stories of the brave children in Starship.

Every year, nearly 130,000 patients visit Starship Child Health, including around 1000 outreach clinics where Starship teams offer specialist support all around New Zealand.

Go to the Starship Foundation Facebook page to find out how you can support Starship or visit starship.org.nz/donate to help bring better health and brighter futures to kids like Eru.