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Christian Wade's latest NFL comments won't go down well in rugby circles

By Josh Raisey
Christian Wade was one of the success stories of the club's academy during their days in Buckinghamshire. (Getty Images)

Former Wasps and England winger Christian Wade recently opened up about his move to American Football as he took over the NFL UK Instagram account.

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Speaking from a hyperbaric chamber on Instagram live, the 27-year-old answered a number of questions that were posed to him by fans.

Wade is currently living in Florida at the IMG Academy on the NFL International Player Pathway, where he said that he hopes to be with a team for preseason ahead of the season starting in September. He explained that he hopes to be picked up as a free agent and play as a running back.

The one-cap England international was posed a lot of questions comparing American Football to rugby, in which he said that winning the Super Bowl would be bigger than winning the World Cup. He also said that American Football was more dangerous than rugby, which was a question that was bound to be asked.

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He explained that the main difference between the two sports was obviously the fact that American Football has pads and helmets, but also the gameplay between the two. Rugby, he described was free-flowing, while his new sport is much more stop-start and like a game a game of chess, whereby he is expected to give 100% the whole time, rather than conserving energy across 80 minutes in rugby.

In light of this, he said that the hardest thing about moving to American Football has been learning the playbook, and being expected to know it in no time at all. Wade said that he is fine with wearing a helmet, but is finding American Football to be like “learning another language”. Furthermore, such is the volume of information that he has had to learn, he said that you “can’t blag it”.

The 2013 British and Irish Lions tourist also opened up about his rugby career, saying that he does not miss it, as he was not enjoying it when he left Wasps. He said that American Football is “up my street” in terms of the training and it was time for a change, which many fans can sympathise with.

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Despite being one of the most dangerous finishers in England, Wade struggled immensely to impress Eddie Jones with England, and was never given an opportunity by the Australian. Nonetheless, he still talked about his career when asked, explaining how Springboks legend Bryan Habana was his favourite player to play against.

Many fans and pundits feel that Wade was unfairly treated throughout his career, due to the lack exposure he had in international rugby, but it looks clear that he seeks to make a name for himself in NFL. This was a great opportunity for the former Wasp to give an update on his new career and where he hopes to be.

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Adrian 25 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

6 Go to comments
T
Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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