Rugby players who tried to crack the NFL
Louis Rees-Zammit: NFL transition 'hard for anybody', says Christian Wade
- Published
Louis Rees-Zammit and Travis Clayton are the latest players to have quit rugby to pursue a career in the NFL.
It has proved a difficult task. Only Jordan Mailata has managed to make the transition.
"It recalibrates what you think is hard," says Christian Scotland-Williamson, one of those who missed out.
So as Rees-Zammit and Clayton prepare for the next stage of their NFL adventure, what can they learn from their predecessors?
Here's a reminder of those who chased their American dream.
Wade's instant impact
Like Rees-Zammit, Christian Wade has pace to burn and quit rugby in his prime. He was 27 and third on the all-time Premiership try-scorers list when he left Wasps in 2018.
After going through the International Player Pathway (IPP) in 2019, he trained with the Buffalo Bills and made an instant impact in their first pre-season game.
On his very first carry in American football, Wade burst through the Indianapolis Colts' defence to run in a stunning 65-yard touchdown.
He played in two more pre-season games but spent the next three seasons on the Bills' practice squad. That sensational start was as good as it got.
Wade returned to rugby in 2022 with French side Racing 92 and is now back in England, coincidentally helping to fill the void Rees-Zammit left at Gloucester.
Ex-Wasps player Christian Wade scores a 65-yard touchdown on his NFL debut for the Bills
The big hitter who went viral
Christian Scotland-Williamson was playing for Worcester when he produced a crunching tackle that went viral.
Among those to reach out was the NFL and months later he was working up to 17 hours a day on the IPP programme in 2018.
He ed the Pittsburgh Steelers and played in pre-season as a tight end, but ill-timed injuries scuppered his progress and he was released after three seasons on their practice squad.
He briefly returned to rugby before becoming a barrister, but insists he wasn't looking at rugby as a Plan B.
His advice is: "You've got to burn the ships behind you. You can't think 'Oh, I'll go for a bit then come back'.
"The odds are so stacked against you, you can't have the slightest thought of the comfort waiting for you at home."
From gridiron to Gladiators
After stints with Newcastle Falcons, London Irish and Yorkshire Carnegie, Alex Gray ed the inaugural IPP class in 2017.
He ed the Atlanta Falcons and played in pre-season as a tight end, but after three seasons on their practice squad, Gray was released and briefly returned to rugby with Bath.
Today, you're more likely to see him in spandex than shoulder pads as he earned a spot on the newest version of BBC TV series Gladiators as Apollo.
Gladiators Apollo and Fire explore the world of MLB
Multi-sport athlete makes NFL bow
Despite growing up in Australia, Hayden Smith discovered rugby in America after completing a basketball scholarship there.
He went on to play for Saracens and the USA, and after playing in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, he had workouts with five NFL teams.
He played in one regular season game for the New York Jets in 2012, making one reception for a 16-yard gain.
It proved to be the one and only NFL he received as Smith was released in 2013 and returned to rugby.
Mailata finds right fit
Jordan Mailata has become somewhat of a celebrity, appearing on The Masked Singer and the Philadelphia Eagles' Christmas albums
Jordan Mailata grew up playing rugby league and had reached the South Sydney Rabbitohs' Under-20s, but there were continued concerns over his conditioning.
That's when he received surely the best advice he's ever had: "Why don’t you play a sport that appreciates your size">