Christian Wade

[jgriffin]

Were this a Leicester player that time and money had been invested in then it'd be harder to swallow on here in my opinion.
You try and put a squad together and then one of your biggest investments decides that he doesn't want to play anymore, it's a selfish move in my opinion.
I look at Toomua's choice and at least he is desiring to reach the pinnacle of his sport with his nation, I can respect that.
Wade's choice is just a cop out!

https://www.premiershiprugby.com/2017-2 ... ent-wasps/

Maybe they are ok with him leaving if there's concerns of a repeat. Once can be considered an accident but twice would lead to more severe sanctions.

Lots of fiddling non-stop down the Ricoh. Sooner or later it will be sold, unlikely to give enough in the trophy cabinet for a good sale not sure about property options outside of total collapse.

[Tiglon]

Wade has put a decade of hard work into making a success of his Rugby Union career, and has been pretty damn successful. However, it's hard to argue that he will be given any opportunity to do more (i.e. international honours) so why not say "yes" to a once in a lifetime opportunity?

Some of the comments about commitment to his sport are utterly ridiculous. Should no one be allowed to change jobs or careers?

Good luck to him, I hope he's a huge success.

[ourla]

Couple of articles:

An old one about Wade's view on rugby's eliticism.

An new with an alternative view of how this move came about plus a few snippets about his possible motivations.

He's still young enough that if it doesn't work out he can come back to Union. But as a fan of NFL I would love to see him prosper.

[Cardiff Tig]

I look at Toomua's choice and at least he is desiring to reach the pinnacle of his sport with his nation, I can respect that.
Wade's choice is just a cop out!

He's moving to another country, to a sport that's significantly harder to get a professional contract in, and you think it's a cop out?!! Most likely is that he will fail at his attempt, which is nothing to be ashamed of, and be significantly worse off financially in the long term.

He's given a significant amount of time and effort to Wasps, and deserves some loyalty back the other way if he decided he no longer wanted to play rugby.

[jgriffin]

Couple of articles:

An old one about Wade's view on rugby's eliticism.

An new with an alternative view of how this move came about plus a few snippets about his possible motivations.

He's still young enough that if it doesn't work out he can come back to Union. But as a fan of NFL I would love to see him prosper.

Reading the articles, I can sympathise. Non-white players/players with no 'connections' get nothing, it's been the same since time immemorial. I have posts from the mid 2000s lamenting the previous decade and the potential good players ignored in favour of the 'connected'. It's better than it was, but not much.

[johnthegriff]

The past is the past and routes into professional rugby are governed by ability. I agree that having a Dad who played can help and attending a school that plays the game is obviously a benefit but these days with the Vunipolas, Itoje, Sinkler and other men of colour established in the England set-up I don't think that background or heritage is quite the advantage or disadvantage that it used to be. Wade is a brilliant attacking winger, defensively he is less good, if I were picking the England team I would consider him but would decide there are better options available, I think successive coaches have thought the same and that is why he has just one cap. Monye says coaches have let Wade down as they have not coached him properly, frankly I don't believe that, tackling and kicking are basic skills, some do it better than others, all are taught how to do it, some work harder at that side of their game, it is the elusive and speedy running of Wade that cannot be taught, he has that natural talent but to make the most of ability means hard work by the player on his weaknesses and not everyone can manage that.

[bageo]

Good luck to him. Part way through a season is slightly odd but he is going to the NFL where this seasona player walked about partway through a game and retired.

If he wants to try it now is as good a time as ever, better than waiting until it is too late to try.

[mol2]

Interestingly Ugo (on BBC iPlayer) suggested that Danny Cipriani might be the next to up sticks to NFL.
Overlooking the fact that as a kicker he's not up to it and not got the gas of Wade!

[jgriffin]

The past is the past and routes into professional rugby are governed by ability. I agree that having a Dad who played can help and attending a school that plays the game is obviously a benefit but these days with the Vunipolas, Itoje, Sinkler and other men of colour established in the England set-up I don't think that background or heritage is quite the advantage or disadvantage that it used to be. Wade is a brilliant attacking winger, defensively he is less good, if I were picking the England team I would consider him but would decide there are better options available, I think successive coaches have thought the same and that is why he has just one cap. Monye says coaches have let Wade down as they have not coached him properly, frankly I don't believe that, tackling and kicking are basic skills, some do it better than others, all are taught how to do it, some work harder at that side of their game, it is the elusive and speedy running of Wade that cannot be taught, he has that natural talent but to make the most of ability means hard work by the player on his weaknesses and not everyone can manage that.

o
I would agree it is somewhat better than it was (it couldn't be much worse than the 90s in England) BUT the same complaints still surface now and again that serious talent is ignored - not missed, ignored. Money or sponsorship talks too (e.g. AWJ getting massive amounts of training and exposure post 16 thanks to having lawyer parents, the Vunipolas going to public school). Even in Wales, IMO better than the other countries in the pre-professional era at spotting talent, having a line to the ear of the Big 3 was invaluable.