Wade picks American football over England
NEWS: England and Wasps wing Christian Wade has decided to pursue an American football career in the NFL.
According to the Daily Mail the 27-year-old Wade, who has scored 82 tries in 130 Premiership matches since his debut in 2010 and sits third all-time with that figure, will has opted to head to America.
Wade has just one cap for England – he played against Argentina five years ago – and joined the British and Irish Lions on their tour of Australia in late 2013.
Despite his try-scoring exploits, he hasn’t been able to add to his international cap tally and has been overlooked by selectors.
Wade has made five appearances for Wasps this season, with his appearance against Gloucester on October 6 looking like his last for the Coventry club.
Other Englishmen to leave rugby in pursuit of American football include Christian Scotland-Williamson, who left Worcester in 2017 and now plies his trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and former England Sevens player Alex Gray, who plays as a tight end for the Atlanta Falcons.
Wade’s code switch would be comparable to that of Jarryd Hayne, who abruptly left the NRL rugby league club Parramatta Eels to join the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL as a running back and kick returner.
Hayne played for one seasons, appearing in eight games before announcing his retirement at the end of the season and joining the Fijian Sevens team.
