The New Zealand media declared Sonny Bill Williams a worthy successor to All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu on Monday after his man-of-the-match performance against Scotland in Edinburgh.

"A night to remember from a freakish talent," the back page of Wellington's Dominion Post declared, while the New Zealand Herald said the former NRL star overshadowed his more experienced team-mates in the 49-3 mauling.

"A 25-year-old with just two caps ... dominated a Test match in a way not seen since Jonah Lomu in his pomp," the Dominion Post's Tony Robson said.

"It is a unique thing in sport - an athlete you remember more than the game itself."

Williams, a rugby league convert fast-tracked into the All Blacks after just a handful of games playing domestic rugby union in New Zealand, had a hand in two of his side's seven tries at Murrayfield.

Herald columnist Wynne Gray said Williams - at 1.91m and 108kg - combined the physical presence of Lomu with a mesmerising ability to offlead the ball under pressure.

"He is an unpolished product, but clearly learning about rugby at such a rate of knots that, if his progress continues, he looms as a great weapon for the All Blacks," Gray wrote.

Former All Blacks captain Stu Wilson said Willams' defence against Scotland was better than his debut against England a week earlier, allowing him to get more involved in the game.

"He's certainly an imposing creature," Wilson told the Herald.

Robson said All Blacks coach Graham Henry would be "foolish" not to start Williams against Ireland in Dublin in New Zealand's next Test.

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