Top 5 rugby stars who have also played a different sport

Versatility is a great skill in rugby, but did you know that some of the game’s biggest stars were versatile enough to play a different sport altogether?

Some of the people on this list will come as a big surprise whereas others have a style of play which is clearly influenced by their time spent in previous sports. There are countless more examples that could have been used, but here are five of the best.

1. Sonny Bill Williams – Boxing

This list could only ever be headlined by one player, Sonny Bill Williams. Easily the most successful rugby player across other sports, Williams has a honours list as long as his arm in both codes of the game. Not content with just being a rugby league and union superstar, he has also represented his country in sevens. Williams was named in the RugbyPass Hall of Fame in 2021.

Outside of rugby, Williams’ successes continue. Being the physical and aggressive player that he was, it will come as no surprise that he has also competed professionally at boxing and wrestling. Boxing is his preferred sport of the two – he made his debut in 2009, during a period in which he was still playing rugby, and quickly rose through the ranks. He won the WBA international heavyweight title in 2013 and took a break from the sport with a 6-0 record. He recently made his return to the ring and has since extended his unbeaten record to nine bouts.

Clearly a huge talent not just on the rugby pitch, there is a chance that Williams could fight ex-youtuber, now boxer, Jake Paul which would gain worldwide attention.

2. Tom Croft – Dance

When compiling this list, a few of the sports expected to come up were boxing, athletics and football. Dancing however, was perhaps the least expected sport of them all but this is exactly what Tom Croft used to do and it makes perfect sense.

Known for his hard work, brilliant set piece and great speed, Tom Croft was an essential cog in the Leicester Tigers machine and was also an incredibly solid player for England. Yet as a teen, Croft was more comfortable in a studio wearing jazz shoes than on a rugby field wearing boots.

The former back row forward first started dancing at age 11 at the West Berkshire Dance Group. Here he trained in a number of different dance disciplines until the age of 16 where he focused more on rugby although still studied modern, contemporary and street dancing.

Croft has since gone on to put a lot of his rugby ability down to his dance training. He spoke of how his experience in the dance studio taught him essential skills such as discipline, balance and speed.

3. Christian Wade – American Football

Initially breaking into the Wasps first team in 2010, Christian Wade quickly became one of the most dangerous players in the English Premiership. Known for his tremendous speed and try scoring ability, the winger made 165 appearances for Wasps, scoring 82 tries – putting him fourth in the all-time premiership list. The speedster only ever received one call up for England however, something which many fans view as shocking.

In 2018, Wade decided to leave Wasps in pursuit of the United States’ most popular sport, American Football. He was released early from his contract with the English premiership team and joined the NFL international players programme. From this, he was signed as a running back to the Buffalo Bills, and scored a remarkable 65 yard touchdown on his preseason debut, which quickly went viral.

Despite his early success in Buffalo, Wade never played for the team in a competitive match and only ever reached the practice squad. Nevertheless, he is still a premiership legend and there is even a rumoured return to rugby on the cards.

4. Danny Care – Football

Danny Care has been one of the English Premiership’s most consistent players over the last decade, winning two titles and earning 84 England caps along the way. Despite his clear success with an oval ball, the veteran Harlequins halfback has admitted that football was always his preferred sport.

The No.9 stated that a football came with him wherever he went as a child and he used to play rugby on Sunday mornings and football on Sunday afternoons. However, he could not continue playing both sports and soon picked football over rugby whereas his brother did the opposite.

An avid Liverpool fan, Care clearly had a talent for football and was picked up by Sheffield Wednesday’s academy where he famously played alongside now Premier League winner Jamie Vardy. Both Care and Vardy stayed at Wednesday until they were 15 years old before being released due to being “too small”.

Despite being dropped by Sheffield Wednesday, things turned out extremely well for Care who has since gone on to thrive in the game we love – Jamie Vardy also did rather well too!

5. Israel Dagg – Cricket

For the final person on this list, we are back in New Zealand. An All Blacks mainstay, Israel Dagg earned over 60 caps for the Kiwi’s winning one world cup and having injuries take away his chance to win a second in 2015.

Similar to Danny Care however, Dagg very nearly chose another sport over rugby. During his college days, the fullback pursued cricket alongside rugby and won a national fast bowling competition. It was clear that Dagg had a talent for cricket and was put in contact with Australian fast bowler Brett Lee who tried to convince him to play cricket permanently.

He never played the sport professionally but did represent New Zealand in youth ranks in a game against Australia. Dagg has since admitted that he was virtually sold on going down the cricket route but changed his mind at the last minute when Hawke’s Bay Magpies offered him a rugby contract.

It turns out then that the All Blacks have a lot to thank Hawke’s Bay for!