'I haven’t left rugby for a glamorous lifestyle in the NFL. This isn't about money'
The upcoming pre-season schedule of the National Football League coincides with Rugby World Cup warm-up matches during the month of August.
With a few more lucky breaks, Christian Wade would currently be ensconced with the England squad, fine-tuning his preparations for a trip to Japan. Instead, he is in contention to feature for the Buffalo Bills as a running back and return specialist.
Eight months ago, at the age of 27, Wade called time on a prolific rugby union career. Only two men could boast more than his haul of 82 Premiership tries, but there were no ties to Eddie Jones’ national set-up and he held ambitions further afield. A place on the NFL’s International Player Programme beckoned.
“I never became disillusioned with rugby,” explains Wade, as evasive and exciting a runner as English rugby union has seen in the past decade. “For me, it was all about my own personal goals and what I wanted to achieve as an athlete.
“I wasn’t going to be able to develop as an athlete more than I already had done, so I wanted to explore other options. Those were inside of rugby first of all. I looked at Japan, at Australia and France, where I could have potentially earned some more money.
“It would been a new culture, a new team. I’d been at Wasps my whole career, so it would have been a way for me to change it up.”
Christian Scotland-Williamson’s move from Worcester Warriors to the Pittsburgh Steelers demonstrates how promising rugby players will uproot to pursue an NFL opportunity.
One of Wade’s classmates during an intensive boot camp in Florida was ex-rugby league star Valentine Holmes, a veteran of 13 caps Australia and a handful of State of Origin appearances for Queensland. Holmes, another example of the International Player Programme’s allure, has been assigned to the New York Jets.
He is attempting to crack the same roles as Wade, who believes his new sport, and a purely offensive focus, suits him.
“In the game of rugby, you have to be able to run for a long period of time,” he says. “You have to sprint when you need to sprint, to make tackles. There’s a certain type of athlete you need to be.
“In the NFL, speed and power is pretty much all that is required. I’ve put on size now – I weight 198lbs [almost 90kg] – and I’ve increased my power. I’m just as fast, and I’m keen to keep increasing that.
“Those are some physiological changes. On the mental side, I’m having to learn, to install so many plays. I’m working my brain in a way I’ve probably never worked it.”
The transition has not been straightforward. Wade, a laid-back and engaging character, admits that a slow process of appreciating and implementing American football’s many intricacies – without any prior grounding in the sport – has made “every day a tough day”.
He has been studying a far vaster playbook, adapting to pads and helmets and honing his ability to weave between blockers. That is before you account for practical concerns, such as giving up an annual wage of over £200,000.
“I left my team-mates and the team I’ve known since the age of 15,” he continues. “I went from a really good salary to no salary. When I left rugby, I didn’t have an income. I was using savings, trying to earn extra bits here and there, asking my parents to help out.
“I went into a camp with the Bills where you get paid by week, a small amount to keep you going. These are the sacrifices I’ve incurred making this move. I haven’t left rugby for a glamorous lifestyle. It’s not about the money. That might play a big part in some people’s lives. It might mean that they would not want to take that risk.”
Wade reports to Buffalo’s training camp on July 22, when he will start striving to make a 53-man franchise roster. Featuring in a fully-fledged NFL match would be a remarkable achievement for such a late starter, regardless of his athletic gifts.
A special teams slot, where he could replicate the electric kick-returns of his rugby days, might be the best window to impress over four pre-season matches against Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings.
During a fortnight-long visit to the United Kingdom, Wade has checked into Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – the venue for two NFL games later this year – to witness the final try-outs for the NFL Academy’s first in-take.
From September, the Academy will allow 16-18 year-olds to combine their education with American football training. Based at Barnet and Southgate College, the initiative should provide a route for budding British teenagers to win places at American colleges and arrive there with a strong grounding in gridiron.
“That will put them in a better position than I am in now,” says Wade. “I think it’s amazing.”
Four years ago, one-cap Wade was omitted from Stuart Lancaster’s 50-man Rugby World Cup training squad. A week later, he responded by scoring three tries as an England XV thrashed the Barbarians 73-12.
It must have felt slightly empty, and certainly seemed to sum up his misfortune with regard to international selection. Yet, when asked to compare his outlook in the summer of 2015 with his feelings on the cusp of this next adventure, he dwells on the positive.
“I scored a hat-trick and we terrorised the Barbarians that day,’ Wade remembers. “I was playing with some of my good friends – Marland Yarde and Danny Cipriani. We were having fun in the sun and it was the last time I played in an England jersey at Twickenham.
“Now I’m in the best shape of my life, about to go into a camp with the Buffalo Bills in the NFL. I’m on the same level of excitement. I guess this time it’s an anxious excitement.
“I’m about to go into the unknown. I’m not sure what I’m in store for, but I’m going to have a good time.”
Topic: Christian: Interview in The Telegraph. (Read 1852 times)
Always a Wasp