Barnaby Harrison

15:19 on Wed 20 January 2010

We're starting to see athletes from other sports crossing over to rugby sevens at the international level - Clinton Sills has already had some success for Australia and former Olympic hurdler and NFL wide receiver, Bennie Brazzell has been included in the USA squad for Suva’s Rugby Festival.

What I would like to discuss is:

Is this the start of a new trend? How likely is this to happen in the future?

How successful do you expect crossover athletes to be? From which sports will athletes make the most successful transitions?

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Jeremy Ourneymen

10:01 on Thu 21 January 2010

I'm not wholly convinced about crossover athletes. Rugby League converts find it hard enough to cross over to union let alone men and women from different sports completely.

If teams can find decent ways to put these players with supreme pace into space it could be effective, but often this isn't the case.

Both Braxzzell and Sills were 400m runners, which seems an ideal blend for Sevens, mixing pace with speed endurance. Guys who have played Basketball could potentially excel to, such is the required handling ability needed.

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Barts and Royal London 1st VII

10:31 on Thu 21 January 2010

Rugby League boys have been crossing over and too for absolutely years, most elite athletes are talented and not just the sport that they are considered 'elite' in. Look back at your mates at school and the ones that went on to success in a certain sport, i would safely bet that 80% also happened to be starring for your school side at other sports. Elite athletes skills are very transferable

The nations like America are always going to be trying this as they have to rely on the sportsman that come to the game late and choose something else first and once they have failed at this, USA Rugby snaps them up.

Not a trend, just something that has been happening and will happen for a while whilst teams/nations look for that extra leg up

Don't see NZ/SA/Fiji trying it too much, can't think why........................

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Jowly Hounds

16:01 on Fri 22 January 2010

The prospect of NFL players having a crack at rugby has always been an exciting one - though it remains to be seen how effective they can be. There may be many transferable skills between American Football and Rugby but playing experience and a knowledge of the game are important assets and pre-requisites for surviving at the elite level.

I'm not sure how much rugby experience the USA's current crop of converts have, but those transferring to elite level sevens without any previous playing experience will struggle to really excel. Even for the most talented of athlete it will take a concerted effort. This doesn't mean it won't happen though - in fact it probably will when the right athlete puts his mind to it. It will be interesting to see which athletes have a crack and how well they do. 

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Sean Bishop

17:41 on Mon 25 January 2010

I agree with the last comment - it takes years to gain a 'rugby brain' and those skills and experience are invaluable when playing sevens. However, sevens is undoubtedly easier than the full sided game to pick up and I can see NFL players or an elite sportsman fitting in well to the IRB sevens circuit. 

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Ted Hardy

04:36 on Wed 27 January 2010

Agreed. The learning curve in sevens isn't nearly as steep as with the full game. It allows more room for natural athleticism and instinct to take over. Not that having a good rugby brain isn't an invaluable asset of it's own right.

Expect to see more and more cross-overs in the coming years now that sevens has the Olympic stamp. But don't overlook the fact that there will also be even more young American players coming to the game and sticking with it, because of the many new opportunities in the game.

This is a new era of rugby that we're entering. I enjoy the hell out of the full game, but sevens has the potential to capture fans in markets that have historically shunned our sport.

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2009 North Penn Sevens

18:58 on Wed 27 January 2010

Ted, I really hope that the new opportunities in Sevens does mean that some of the really talented kids in America do take up the game young instead of some of the powerhouse sports, if only a very small % of them do so then America will benefit hugely. The development of these players will be key and then in the short-term we may see crossover athletes but i hope in the long term USA Rugby as a development plan in place that will see these kids mature and develop and take these positions at the top of the game as this is what is required for the longevity and success of the program

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Matthew Wekpe

11:51 on Thu 11 March 2010

hi people im an athlete and compete in the 100m in athletics i run 10.54secs..and my coach is linford christie. if you want to see how succesfull an athlete can be from coming from another sport, keep an eye out for me as i have alot to being to rugby :-D..

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Jason Pan

05:52 on Fri 12 March 2010

I think there will always be many converts from American Football to rugby, for the simple fact that there are many talented athletes who don't make it on a collegiate football team after graduating from high school. If guys don't make it into a college team, then that's it, no real NFL future for them, and I personally am seeing a lot of these guys that didn't quite make the cut for AF join the rugby club. Look at Takudzwa Ngwenya for example, I heard he didn't quite make the cut with the University of Texas team (because he wasn't big enough), and now he's playing with one of the french clubs, professionally. He also scored try of the world cup in 2007.

There also aren't any AF clubs here in america, like there is with rugby. A few guys might go toss around the ball with some friends but that's about it. With rugby, guys in clubs can progress through regional and national championships, like Belmont Shore did recently at Las Vegas.

That being said, while many young athletes are born and raised in "football families", who breathe and bleed football, I'm slowly seeing more teens getting into rugby as freshmen in high school. This is a good thing, even if it's going at a glacial pace. On North Penn's comment, I too hope USAR will continue developing a system to get the most talented, hardest working players representing our country.

But then again, that means more competition for me...

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