Sonny Bill mourns the loss of his grandmother

  • 09/05/2016
Sonny Bill Williams with his grandmother (Supplied / Sonny Bill Williams)
Sonny Bill Williams with his grandmother (Supplied / Sonny Bill Williams)

Sonny Bill Williams has today been mourning the loss of his grandmother.

The rugby player and boxer tweeted that last night he had lost one of his 'most loved' -- his nana.

He then shared a Mother's Day message with his followers, telling them to cherish and visit mothers and grandmothers as much as possible, saying that every day is Mother's Day.

Sonny Bill missed all three All Blacks victory parades after the 2011 World Cup after his nana was hospitalised.

She was similarly missed by Sonny Bill's sister, professional rugby player Niall Williams. Niall also tweeted about the family's loss, saying "The heart and soul of our family, she will be the brightest star in the sky for sure... Enjoy paradise nana".

The pair clearly share great affection for their grandmother. In January, Sonny Bill tweeted a picture of himself with his grandmother, with the caption "Nana and her favourite grandchild".

The tweet was met with a cheeky reply from his sister, who said "hahaha no this is nana and her fav grandchild she told me so (sic)"

That tweet was followed in February with a tweet simply reading "I [heart] you nana".

Sonny Bill Williams is named after his grandfather, William (Bill) Woolsey. His younger sister - Niall's twin - shares their grandmother's name, Denise.

Sonny Bill has changed his profile photo to an image of him with his grandmother.

Newshub.