The Rugby Thread

[Buzzo]

I'd be imagine he sees himself as a wide receiver

He has the physical attributes and speed for sure.

Listening to a few pods and interviews on this last night and what became clear was.

1. It is very rare for an athlete whi has not been brought up in NFL to segue into the sport.
2. Raw talent will not be enough
3. One of the key elements is learning the playbook, which is apparently a massive challenge, and, totally diferent to Rugby which is more based on improvisation and reading what is infront of you.
4. The money on offer for the pathway he is heading too is decent, and the money that lies behind that is life changing.
5. He is only 22, so if he goes after it for 2-3 years and it leads nowhere he returns to RU at 25 with still the best part of his career ahead of him, and he would land a (By RU standards) decent contract.

Of all the players out there he definitely has a chance, but the odds are against him.

Oh, and apparently he and his dad are life long NFL fans, so it really is him pursuing a dream.

[spud_gun]

We were debating this earlier - a punt returner? Christian Wade tried and failed also right?

Specialist Punt Returner isn't really a thing in the NFL anymore. Punts and kick offs are too much of a crap shoot to waste an entire roster spot on such a specialized position. If a returner were to gain a reputation then the opposition team simply wouldn't kick to him anymore. Last player i can think of like that was Devin Hester

Quick Google shows that he's 6'2 so more than likely he'll be trying to become either a wide receiver or a corner back.

Interesting to see how this develops.

[Buzzo]

Bit of a summary of Wade here.

Seems like injury, and I would imagine COVID must have done for his first couple of seasons, I recall his TD from that pre season game. Decent. He does look a bit lost on what to do when he hits the endzone tho

[ame="https://youtu.be/GiREfk9UoKE"]Christian Wade's first NFL touchdown | England Rugby star goes 65-yards for the score! 🏈 | NFL UK - YouTube[/ame]

[RichC]

Yup, Wade went there and didn't get a sniff. Big gamble from him tbh but if it works the money could be massive.

[Buzzo]

We were debating this earlier - a punt returner? Christian Wade tried and failed also right?

Yeah, will be interesting to see how he goes. He scored a try at the weekend against Edinburgh that was pure NFL, sawthe space and ran through it at a speed nobody could live with. And much like NFL, that was pretty much all he did.

"Fulfilling a childhood ambition" - my arse! Fulfilling a hole in his bank balance.

Yeah - Christian Wade is back in the prem now, or was he at Racing - wiki - yeah he is at Racing, he never actually played for the Bills, wonder how much he earned?

[Irishnev]

Big news. Immediate effect, apparently Gatland and Gloucester only found out this am.

https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1747273876059684971

We were debating this earlier - a punt returner? Christian Wade tried and failed also right?

[Buzzo]

Big news. Immediate effect, apparently Gatland and Gloucester only found out this am.

[ame]https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1747273876059684971[/ame]

[Buzzo]

that pack.

1 wet ball game v South Africa and the England pack is back in business.

Both scrum half’s also… just the 9 England players.

[Irishnev]

Farrell taking the Lions - I wonder if we might an Irish captain

Stephen Jones is a wind up merchant at this stage, Garth Crooks levels

[ame="https://twitter.com/paddy__paddy/status/1745785523484975337"]https://twitter.com/paddy__paddy/status/1745785523484975337[/ame]

[Irishnev]

Confirmed now.

500k p/a his huge money and a gamble given his injuries but at 28 his best years could be ahead of him and he’s a phenomenal player. It’s got Nienebar’s finger prints all over it

[Buzzo]

All over Irish media now - too much smoke

https://www.rte.ie/sport/united-rugb...snyman-fiasco/

Confirmed now.

[Irishnev]

Bath I heard?

All over Irish media now - too much smoke

https://www.rte.ie/sport/united-rugby-championship/2023/1215/1422210-munster-fans-right-to-be-aggrieved-over-snyman-fiasco/

[Buzzo]

RG Snyman leaving Munster at the end of the season, strongly linked to Leinster ffs

Bath I heard?

[Irishnev]

RG Snyman leaving Munster at the end of the season, strongly linked to Leinster ffs

[Buzzo]

Edinburgh went in with weakened team and lost.

Watched Blair Kinghorn score 2 try’s on debut for Toulouse and Finn Russell seems to have breathed life into Bath, they are playing well. He seems to be realising the potential in Ollie Lawrence who looks immense.