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Christian Wade's latest NFL comments won't go down well in rugby circles
By Josh Raisey
Former Wasps and England winger Christian Wade recently opened up about his move to American Football as he took over the NFL UK Instagram account.
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Speaking from a hyperbaric chamber on Instagram live, the 27-year-old answered a number of questions that were posed to him by fans.
Wade is currently living in Florida at the IMG Academy on the NFL International Player Pathway, where he said that he hopes to be with a team for preseason ahead of the season starting in September. He explained that he hopes to be picked up as a free agent and play as a running back.
The one-cap England international was posed a lot of questions comparing American Football to rugby, in which he said that winning the Super Bowl would be bigger than winning the World Cup. He also said that American Football was more dangerous than rugby, which was a question that was bound to be asked.
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He explained that the main difference between the two sports was obviously the fact that American Football has pads and helmets, but also the gameplay between the two. Rugby, he described was free-flowing, while his new sport is much more stop-start and like a game a game of chess, whereby he is expected to give 100% the whole time, rather than conserving energy across 80 minutes in rugby.
In light of this, he said that the hardest thing about moving to American Football has been learning the playbook, and being expected to know it in no time at all. Wade said that he is fine with wearing a helmet, but is finding American Football to be like “learning another language”. Furthermore, such is the volume of information that he has had to learn, he said that you “can’t blag it”.
The 2013 British and Irish Lions tourist also opened up about his rugby career, saying that he does not miss it, as he was not enjoying it when he left Wasps. He said that American Football is “up my street” in terms of the training and it was time for a change, which many fans can sympathise with.
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Despite being one of the most dangerous finishers in England, Wade struggled immensely to impress Eddie Jones with England, and was never given an opportunity by the Australian. Nonetheless, he still talked about his career when asked, explaining how Springboks legend Bryan Habana was his favourite player to play against.
Many fans and pundits feel that Wade was unfairly treated throughout his career, due to the lack exposure he had in international rugby, but it looks clear that he seeks to make a name for himself in NFL. This was a great opportunity for the former Wasp to give an update on his new career and where he hopes to be.
