Rugby Players that started in Soccer (ahem Association Football)

[young gun]

another one - Matt Burke - got into rugby at Joeys

 

[AngrySeahorse]

Matt Burke was the other name I was struggling to remember!

I'm going to bury my opponent with these names, lol.

The intelligent & well informed sources from peeps on G&GR forum, where would I be without you?

 

[suckerforred]

Nick Farr-Jones also started his sporting career in Soccor...... Then worked out he could hit people in rugby.

 

[Cave Dweller]

Here you go

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_players_who_have_converted_from_one_football_code_to_another

 

[AngrySeahorse]

Thanks CD, I did check wiki earlier but kind of err on the side of caution when it comes to wiki at times.

 

[Ruggo]

I think Horwill was another late bloomer and played ausie rules before that.

 

[Cave Dweller]

Thanks CD, I did check wiki earlier but kind of err on the side of caution when it comes to wiki at times.

Check the reference at the bottom of the page.

 

[dobduff11]

Aidan Toua played Soccer when he was younger and then got into Rugby at Churchie.

Danny Cipriani played for QPR academy I think as well as county Cricket.

Paul Sackey, David Strettle and a few other English players were academy Soccer players first, Cueto as well I think.

 

[Melbourne Terrace]

was going to say cipriani was also a footballer but someone beat me to it. was and still is good enough to play Left back at a professional level as he was training with Queens Park Rangers and the MLS team in Colorado.

 

[Slim 293]

Going off topic slightly...

But I seem to recall Guy Shepherdson also being a very talented basketballer in his high school years...

This may come as a surprise to many, but I was personally surprised (after having been a bit out of touch with rugby for a few years) that Guy had turned into a frontrower...

He was a no 8/lock throughout his high school years, and anyone who ever came up against him can verify that he was freakishly bigger than any other kid on the playing field in those days... usually twice the size (mostly in height) of the biggest kid in the opposition team.

Grammar won many premierships by simply "giving the ball to Guy" and watching the opposition having to employ an entire forward pack to bring him down...

Side note - Grammar also wound up developing another kid close to Guy's size whose surname was Killer... and I shit you not, his father was a GP!

My GP shared a practice with Dr Killer...

 

[Cave Dweller]

was going to say cipriani was also a footballer but someone beat me to it. was and still is good enough to play Left back at a professional level as he was training with Queens Park Rangers and the MLS team in Colorado.

He played for their youth team not senior side

 

[elementfreak]

Cipriani went for trials at QPR in the UK and did well apparently.

 

[Jnor]

Aidan Toua played Soccer when he was younger and then got into Rugby at Churchie.

Danny Cipriani played for QPR academy I think as well as county Cricket.

Paul Sackey, David Strettle and a few other English players were academy Soccer players first, Cueto as well I think.

I still don't understand how you know all this stuff

 

[Bullrush]

Going off topic slightly...

But I seem to recall Guy Shepherdson also being a very talented basketballer in his high school years...

This may come as a surprise to many, but I was personally surprised (after having been a bit out of touch with rugby for a few years) that Guy had turned into a frontrower...

He was a no 8/lock throughout his high school years, and anyone who ever came up against him can verify that he was freakishly bigger than any other kid on the playing field in those days... usually twice the size (mostly in height) of the biggest kid in the opposition team.

Grammar won many premierships by simply "giving the ball to Guy" and watching the opposition having to employ an entire forward pack to bring him down...

Side note - Grammar also wound up developing another kid close to Guy's size whose surname was Killer... and I shit you not, his father was a GP!

My GP shared a practice with Dr Killer...

Jeff Wilson was also a good basketball player as well. Could have had a shot at playing for the Tall Blacks from memory but he did represent NZ in cricket as well as rugby from memory....

 

[Cave Dweller]

Cipriani went for trials at QPR in the UK and did well apparently.

He played for their youth team

Spotted as a rugby talent at Donhead, he was offered a scholarship and advised to move to the Junior House of The Oratory School near Reading to continue his development. He later moved to Whitgift School in Croydon after Common Entrance. A keen all-round sportsman, Cipriani played junior football for Queens Park Rangers and was offered youth terms by Reading. He also played schoolboy cricket for Berkshire and Oxfordshire. He was invited to join Surrey County Cricket Club as a batsman. He also played squash at county level.[4] He first played club rugby at Rosslyn Park in Roehampton, where he developed his passion for the game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Cipriani

If he played FB back then then he would struggle in the modern era. Full-backs are now the most important players in the team.