Despite living in a nation most famous for its wussy adaptation into something called "American football", Williams shirked the glittering, padded allure of the NFL in favour of being a big-time fan of Rugby Union - specifically, New Zealand All Black star Jonah Lomu, who once flew to San Francisco and gifted WIlliams with a signed All Blacks jersey. They were later reunited on a national TV show during a trip the actor made to New Zealand, where Lomu gifted him another official jersey, this time with the player's number eleven on the front. Today the All Blacks player has mourned the loss of his "great friend" Not only was he a huge fan of the sport, he was pretty outspoken about his support and his opinions on the game, too. To the point that he weighed in on the local rivalry between the New Zealand and Australian national teams, jokingly labelling the latter as "basically English rednecks" - something which Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd didn't take with quite as much good humour, who angrily hit back that perhaps Williams should spend "a bit of time in Alabama." Not only a fan of Rugby Union, but had a beef with the Australian PM. Who knew?
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
