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How Wales' Aaron Wainwright could have been playing League Two football this weekend at Colchester

By Online Editors
Aaron Wainwright scoring for Wales against France in the RWC quarter-final. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Wales flanker Aaron Wainwright could have made it as a professional footballer had he not switched his focus to rugby, according to his former coach at Newport. Wainwright has been a World Cup sensation in Japan and will be a key figure when Wales meet South Africa in Sunday’s semi-final.

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But the 22-year-old began his sporting life as a footballer, spending several years at the Cardiff academy before being offered scholarship terms at League Two club Newport, who are away to Colchester United on Saturday. “We liked what we saw, but he’d just had a knock-back at Cardiff and was doing his A Levels,” said Danny Elliott, Newport under-23s development coach.

“He was hoping to become a dentist and his father was looking at the sensible option of Aaron going to university and getting his qualifications. Rugby was in the background and he was enjoying that, but he wasn’t taking it too seriously at the time.

“We told Aaron there was an opportunity for him here, but his dad was under no illusions that football was a very hard game to get into. What happened to him at Cardiff had a huge impact on him.”

Wainwright told Rugby World this month that he was a defensive midfielder who “moulded my game on Patrick Vieira and Claude Makelele”. But Elliott believes that Wainwright had more to his game than simply protecting the defence and that he possessed box-to-box qualities.

(Continue reading below…)

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“Physically he was built well and very athletic,” Elliott said. “He was good on the ball and had a good range of passing. He was a very powerful midfielder and similar to a player we’d had two or three years previously. He reminded me of (Wales international) Lee Evans, who is now playing in the Football League at Wigan. He could get around the pitch and get box-to-box.

“It was a shame he decided to stay at school because the current boss Michael Flynn was coming in as academy manager. He would have been great for Aaron as a central midfielder himself and taken him on further. Justin Edinburgh (then first-team manager) was also unbelievable for the young kids, and I’m sure he would have got a chance if he’d continued the progress he was making.”

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Wainwright’s rapid rugby rise began at Whiteheads RFC and he played for Premiership side Newport before Guinness PRO14 outfit Dragons gave him his debut in October 2017. The following summer, Wainwright made his international debut in Argentina and he has now established himself as one of Wales’ most important players with his performances in Japan.

Wainwright capped his man-of-the-match display in the 20-19 quarter-final victory over France with his first Wales try, showing the pace of a back in a sprint to the line. “I saw that try and I thought, yes, he could make those bursts from midfield,” Elliott said.

“I think that would have taken him a long way in football but he’s shown how adaptable he is. The attitude, level-headedness and good direction that he had from his father has helped him become a success in rugby.”

– Press Association 

WATCH: Warren Gatland is absolutely fine with some people writing off Wales’ chances against South Africa

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J
Jon 55 minutes ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

34 Go to comments
j
john 3 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

15 Go to comments
A
Adrian 5 hours 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

15 Go to comments
T
Trevor 8 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.

21 Go to comments
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