Sonny Bill Williams hits out at Instagram after photo of him praying before rugby game was removed

Sonny Bill Williams hit out at Instagram last night after a photo of himself and All Black teammate Ofa Tuungafasi praying before the team's match against the Springboks in Yokohama on Saturday was removed from the social media site.

The All Black midfielder took to Twitter and Instagram to question why the "simple picture" was taken down by the social media giant.

"Hello @instagram & to all that reported this photo. I'm wondering why this was removed from mine and @TuungafasiO pages?" Williams wrote.

"Surely a simple picture of someone expressing their gratitude for what they've been blessed with is ok?"

Williams accompanied his post with the original picture he posted and the notice he received from Instagram saying that the content he posted on the social media site "infringes or otherwise violates" the rights of a third party.

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However, it has since been revealed that he had committed a copyright infringement because the 34-year-old didn't credit Faiz Azizan, who took the photo.

Williams, who is a devout Muslim, took to the social media platform again to apologise to the photographer after using his image without credit.

"Asalamualiakum brother, please forgive me for the misunderstanding. I was sent the photo that already had your name cropped out, if I'd known before I posted I would've tagged you As you captured a beautiful moment. @instagram apologies also.

"A little bit of Sabr (patience) goes along way," Williams said while re-posting the image with a credit.