Collin Klein- USA Rugby All-Star?

[Kat Kid]

What if Collin Klein became the best rugby player in US History?  8man, what position would he play and why has this not happened yet?

[EMAWmeister]

I think he'd be a second row.

[ManBearPig]

Usually the guy who is most athletic/has the best hands plays prop or second row....

[star seed 7]

i wish i knew more about rugby, seems like a boss sport.

[Kat Kid]

winghalf?

[ManBearPig]

winghalf?

i could see that...but i would think 8 would be a fitting position for him imo. I'll have to hear 8MP's analysis and evaluation before i can decide though

[8manpick]

winghalf?

i could see that...but i would think 8 would be a fitting position for him imo. I'll have to hear 8MP's analysis and evaluation before i can decide though

I'm not sure. Kind of depends if he would run like a total FP.

He would probably play #8 or flanker with his size and speed. Assuming he was a good tackler.

[slobber]

Flanker
But if he was a real stud, he'd play 2nd row, sir.

[AST]

are you guys as all knowing about everything IRL as you are on the internets

damn I wish I knew anything about rugby

they have some rugby tourneys about a mile from my house and I always say I'm gonna go and watch but never do

[hemmy]

are you guys as all knowing about everything IRL as you are on the internets

damn I wish I knew anything about rugby

they have some rugby tourneys about a mile from my house and I always say I'm gonna go and watch but never do

I think at least 1 of them was on the ksu rugby club team

[slobber]

are you guys as all knowing about everything IRL as you are on the internets

damn I wish I knew anything about rugby

they have some rugby tourneys about a mile from my house and I always say I'm gonna go and watch but never do

You should go. Ask a couple of dudes to explain it to you just so you get a basic understanding.

[slobber]

are you guys as all knowing about everything IRL as you are on the internets

damn I wish I knew anything about rugby

they have some rugby tourneys about a mile from my house and I always say I'm gonna go and watch but never do

I think at least 1 of them was on the ksu rugby club team

I think there are 4 known.

[AST]

are you guys as all knowing about everything IRL as you are on the internets

damn I wish I knew anything about rugby

they have some rugby tourneys about a mile from my house and I always say I'm gonna go and watch but never do

You should go. Ask a couple of dudes to explain it to you just so you get a basic understanding.

it will be done and done

[DQ12]

he'd be one of the mongoloid forwards.  #8, prop, flanker...who cares really?  all the same to me imo.

[FranklyFrankYou]

My friend and I were discussing this and he said that football players aren't good rugby players. I countered with that giant Polynesian Islander type that the Cowboys tried to turn into a beast but he had a problem catching forward passes or something. What was that guys name? He literally was/is(?) A true beast in rugby. But he couldn't cut it in the NFL....do international rugby players get paid well?

[8manpick]

My friend and I were discussing this and he said that football players aren't good rugby players. I countered with that giant Polynesian Islander type that the Cowboys tried to turn into a beast but he had a problem catching forward passes or something. What was that guys name? He literally was/is(?) A true beast in rugby. But he couldn't cut it in the NFL....do international rugby players get paid well?

They get paid "well" but not nearly on the level of pro athletes in football, baseball, basketball, soccer, or hockey.  (Right now £1 = $1.61)

Best-paid rugby players in the world (annual salaries)

D Carter, £1.2m, Racing Metro (2011-12)
S Chabal, £1m, Racing Metro (2011-12)
M Giteau, £900,000, Western Force (2009-10)
J Hook, £750,000, Perpignan (2011-12)
J Wilkinson, £700,000, Toulon (2011-12)

Best-paid players in English rugby
Carl Hayman, £350,000, Newcastle (2009-10)
Chris Latham Worcester (2009-10) £325,000

Average salary in the Aviva Premiership
2006-07 £50,000
2007-08 £55,000
2008-09 £60,000
2009-10 £75,000
2010-11 £85,000

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-1377710/All-Blacks-star-Dan-Carter-worlds-best-paid-player-Racing-Metro-offer-4m-deal.html#ixzz2HaaGSt5s

Avg salary of professionals in New Zealand: $400,000 NZD ($337,760 USD)


Not sure about that Cowboys player.  Some rugby players transition into being good football players, and some football players transition into being good rugby players.  Others don't.  For example, K-State Football players who grew up playing rugby first include Moses Manu, Alesana Alesana, and Vai Latui.  Ryan Mueller moonlighted as a rugby player in high school (as a teammate of a couple prominent posters on this board who didn't stick with rugby in college) Haloti Ngata is an example of a guy who was really good at both.  Current USA rugby player Taylor Mokate was recruited as a TE for OU and played football for a year before choosing rugby (also a total FP, TC).  Richard Tardits was a star rugby player in France growing up, before playing football at UGA and then in the NFL for a long time.

The fact is that despite similarities in tackling and running there are very different skill sets required for both, and some guys transition well and others don't.  Football is much more specialized than rugby, but the specializations in rugby may seem strange to a football player.  People who played running back in high school seem to have a really tough time making the transition to rugby because the running style and mentality is completely different.  I dunno, different strokes for different folks I guess.

[bubbles4ksu]

My friend and I were discussing this and he said that football players aren't good rugby players. I countered with that giant Polynesian Islander type that the Cowboys tried to turn into a beast but he had a problem catching forward passes or something. What was that guys name? He literally was/is(?) A true beast in rugby. But he couldn't cut it in the NFL....do international rugby players get paid well?

crossover potential always fascinated people. He was 6'5" 265 and very fast. He is rumored to have been given tryouts by the Cowboys, the Jets, and other NFL teams, but the only thing I can find that says he definitely did try out is a bleacherreport article. If he did try out and couldn't hack it, I really doubt that it was because of an inability to catch forward passes. He handled the ball a lot playing rugby, and the hands of every Pacific Islander I've encountered have been so incredibly outstanding that I'm prepared to make the racist generalization that 'they' all have good hands. It seems more likely that it wasn't worth it to him to give up being an international rugby superstar for an uncertain career as a NFL defensive end.

I really miss playing. 

[SabiNation]

I think getting trashed and going to watch bubbles, ManBearPig, 8man and the rest of the KSU RugbyCats was one of my favorite memories from my time at K-State.  So much fun.  Just nothing better than sitting in old stadium on a beautiful spring day, a keystone in each hand, watching guys kick each other's faces in.  Those guys are all confirmed hardcore badasses, also.  Go Cats! 

[8manpick]

Lomu made a lot of grown-ass men look like children trying to tackle him.  Simply unreal combination of power and speed.

One important thing I didn't mention for crossing over between rugby and football is the different levels of fitness.  Football fitness is super pud compared to rugby because of the breaks between plays and the split between offensive and defensive players, not to mention free substitution.  Rugby is similar to soccer in this manner, 15 players on the field and 5 subs per game.  No doubt, Ray Lewis would be a huge badass in rugby, but if he wanted to play effectively for longer than 5 minutes, he'd probably have to shed 30 or 40 pounds and would lose a lot of his hitting power.