Jarryd Hayne: How 10 Other Rugby League Players Fared in Switching Sports

How does a rugby league background prepare you for playing a different game? Are the athletic and fitness requirements, alongside the skill set, conducive for playing a sport with different rules, structures and physical requirements?

It is a question many are asking as former Parramatta Eels fullback Jarryd Hayne sets out to fulfil his NFL Dream.

There was a time when players flocked to rugby league, particularly from rugby union. The lucrative contracts that were on offer made the game an attractive option, particularly for rugby union players who were fed up with being paid nothing.

Over the past two decades, that trend has reversed, and in recent years, rugby league has seen an exodus of many of its top players; many of whom had not reached their peak.

Jarryd Hayne is merely the latest in a long line. He left rugby league in the best form of his life after having spent four years trying to recapture his brilliance. It was a risky time to leave.

But he is not the first to do it, nor will he be the last. While no one has attempted the transition from rugby league to NFL before, plenty of others have tried their hand at various other football codes. Here is a look at how some of them, primarily those from Hayne's native Australia, have done.

On his day, there was no one in rugby league more dominant than Jarryd Hayne. An exceptional athlete with a combination of speed, agility, strength and power, Hayne had the ability to cut his opponents to pieces. In both 2009 and 2014 he won the Dally M Medal for NRL Player of the Year and was a regular in his state team, New South Wales.

He never quite found consistency, having some lean years in between those two magical ones, but we all know what he is capable of. 

His transition to the NFL will be tough, primarily because it is so hard to learn to play a new sport effectively. Sure he is an athlete, but that does not make him an NFL player. It is something we have seen all too often with players changing codes.

By all reports, he seems to be going well with the 49ers, impressing with his catching ability and cutting down his 40-yard dash time. Whether that translates into being able to make split-second decisions in a game situation is another thing, though, which will determine how the move pans out.

Not many people could claim to have played three sports professionally by the age of 24. Israel Folau did just that though. Now 26, the current rugby union player also had stints in the NRL and AFL, and it would not be a surprise to see him end up somewhere else, either.

You could not say his transitions were not genuine. He played in the top competition's for all three sports in the world and represented Australia in both league and union.

But he has never quite reached the dizzying heights he did in the NRL in either of his two other sports. For four years, he was among the best, possibly even the best winger in rugby league. He was as good as anyone the game has ever seen at fielding high cross-kicks, while his speed and size made him tough to tackle with ball in hand. 

At the age of 21, he left the game and embarked on what was ultimately an unsuccessful AFL career. Despite being a great athlete, he never convinced and suggested that the passion was just not there for it.

In 2012, he transferred to rugby union, where he currently plays with the Waratahs in Super Rugby and is the first-choice Australian fullback. His union career has been significantly better than his AFL one, although you have to think he would have made an even greater impact in league.

His ability under the high ball and powerful running have made him one of the world's best in his position over the past three years. It did not happen straight away, though, as he was nothing short of terrible in his first few outings with the Waratahs, making all sorts of mistakes and struggling with his positional play.

They had faith in him and he has improved. The one knock against him is he has never really done it against the world's best, the All Blacks, which many use as the benchmark for sorting the men from the boys, while he is still prone to mistakes. 

There is no more controversial figure in New Zealand sport than Sonny Bill Williams. You either love him or you hate him. An athlete with undeniable talent, many have questioned his loyalty and whether much of his standing as a player comes from the hype that comes with him.

Another player who was brought into the NRL at a young age, Williams made a name for himself as a second-rower with the Bulldogs with his strong offloading game, big hits and powerful running.

It all ended with a sour taste, however, when in 2008, he fled Australia despite being under contract until 2012. The incident was one that left many Down Under disenchanted with the superstar.

His destination was France, where he would lay the foundations for a rugby union career. In 2010, he returned to his native New Zealand, where he launched both his All Black and boxing careers. He would then return to the NRL for the 2013 and 2014 seasons, before crossing the ditch once again to reprise his career in union.

Though some have deemed his union career to be a success, he still does look like a league player playing union. He has a tendency to get lost on defence and his work rate is fairly low in comparison to other second five-eighths such as Ma'a Nonu, Ryan Crotty and Shaun Treeby. 

There is no doubting he has improved. He has learnt to use his key feature, his offload, more selectively rather than trying to unload the ball every time he goes into contact—as he did when he first came to union.

Other than a sparkling run of form in 2012, though, he has rarely looked to be a genuine threat on a consistent basis. That he has been a constant in the All Blacks for most of his time in the game has felt like more of a gamble that he will perform, rather than because he has consistently been on top of his game.

He was not a major player in the All Blacks prior to that year, and it is hard to see that he has done anything to warrant the black jersey since his return.

Other than a few highlights, he has been pretty ordinary, and it would be hard to justify his inclusion in the All Blacks with four other midfielders playing so well.

His boxing career, meanwhile, is hardly worth mentioning; it has essentially contained a handful of fights against out-of-condition opponents. 

As a union player, he has done OK for himself, but he is still a player more likely to give you a few highlights, rather than consistent, hard-working performances. Like so many before him, the phrase, "he is a league player playing union" sums him up.

Probably the best of the Australian rugby league converts prior to Israel Folau, Mat Rogers had a handy career as a top-level rugby union player. Capable of playing anywhere in the back line except scrum-half, Rogers was a skilful player with a big boot and a handy running game.

He played 45 times for the Wallabies between 2002 and 2006, sometimes as a starter, sometimes off the bench, with his value as a utility of great importance to maintaining his spot.

In 2003, he started in all seven of the Wallabies World Cup games, six of which were at fullback. He would create headlines by scoring 42 points against Namibia, although he was a solid team member rather than a superstar for the most part.

After the 2006 season, he returned to rugby league, where he reprised what had previously been a successful NRL career. He never quite reached the heights he achieved prior to his initial switch, but carved out a handy second career in the Premiership.

While he never became a legitimate superstar of rugby union, he made a solid transition and will go down as one of the better code switchers.

It is one thing to go from one code of football to another, whether it be rugby union, rugby league, NFL or AFL. It is something completely different to go from football to an entirely different sport all together.

Many league players have tried their hand at boxing, but of all of them, Anthony Mundine is the only one who has had real success.

After seven years in rugby league, which included an NRL Premiership with the Dragons in 1999 and three State of Origin selections in the same year, Mundine swapped boots for gloves.

Despite talk of a return to league at one stage, Mundine has remained in the ring since 2000 and has compiled an impressive professional record of 47 wins and just six losses.

Arguably his biggest scalp has been high-profile American Shane Mosley, a fight Mundine won due to Mosley retiring injured, although Mundine was ahead on points at the time.

He has proven himself over time through holding various world titles in super middleweight, middleweight and super welterweight classes.

Despite his lack of experience in boxing and coming from a vastly different game, Mundine has done very well and shows that it can be done.

In Benji Marshall we have proof that being a superstar in one game does not mean you will be any good at another. Marshall, while perhaps past his best at the time of his transition, enjoyed a stellar career at the Wests Tigers before so famously switching codes to take up a contract with the Blues in Super Rugby. 

There have been few more elusive players ever to play any sport. On his day, he was virtually untouchable, possessing speed, agility and explosiveness in abundance, while also having a good kick, the ability to distribute and all the skills.

Throughout his decade with the Tigers, he would have rated right up there in any list of the best players in the world.

It was understandable, then, that he came home to New Zealand with plenty of hype.

Unfortunately, that is all he really was. Other than a few nice touches, it was clear Marshall had a long way to go if he was going to become a reliable option in rugby union.

His skill was undeniable, but the positional play and reading of the game he developed in league did not transition to union.  

At first five-eighth he never looked capable of controlling play, while at fullback he seemed unsure in his off-the-ball work. Both roles, while ones that he could have done well in if he had more experience, were too demanding for someone who was used to simply being a playmaker in a different game. 

It was clear, even at the time, he was being rushed in. He should have been playing club rugby and then ITM Cup to find his feet in the 15-man game.

Instead, he was thrown straight into arguably the most competitive competition in the world, and he looked out of his depth with the pace, positional and technical sides of the game. 

His career in union was short-lived, and after just six games, he cut his losses and returned to the NRL, taking up a contract with the Dragons, where he has, at times, played reasonably well.

If Benji Marshall is proof that being a star in one game does not mean that will transfer to another, then Berrick Barnes is proof that you do not have to excel in your first sport to do well in another.

Barnes, who played two years of rugby league, one in first-grade with the Brisbane Broncos, has been a staple of the Australian rugby union back line over the past decade.

He probably never gave league enough of a chance, leaving as an up-and-comer rather than a established first-grade player. Arriving in union in 2006, he emerged as a player capable of taking a gap, possessed a handy boot and distributed fairly well.

Primarily used in the five-eighths, Barnes' playmaking ability made him a threat with ball in hand and was a reminder that you do not have to be a bruising, direct runner to wear the No. 12 jersey.

It was a shame his career was dogged with injuries, as he never really seemed to take the field at full fitness on a consistent enough basis to really fulfil everything he promised.

He still did pretty well, though, playing 51 Tests for the Wallabies between 2007 and 2013, while also turning out for the Reds and Waratahs at Super Rugby level.

He will not go down as a great of the game, but he was a fairly solid player, and his utility value meant there was normally a spot for him in his national team when fit.

Certainly his career in rugby union was more successful than what he did in league—indeed, a lot of people do not even know he played league. That he was not a superstar in his initial game was of little consequence.

One of only two players to have truly mastered both rugby codes, Jason Robinson switched from rugby league to union with almost instant success. England's most dangerous player since David Duckham in the 1970's, Robinson excelled despite being part of a team which played a dour style of rugby and often gave him few opportunities.

Robinson's first decade of professional sport was spent playing rugby league, where he was a regular in Great Britain and England teams and was one of the most electrifying outside backs in the world.

Even those from Australia and New Zealand, countries who can tend to look down on their northern counterparts, admitted the man was among the best in the game.

He played his first game of rugby union in November 2000 and was virtually an instant success. His acceleration and tricky footwork were beyond anything that had been seen in the northern hemisphere for a long time, and consequently, Robinson was picked in the England Six Nations team for 2001. 

His performances were impressive, and he went on to play all three Tests for the British and Irish Lions on their tour to Australia that same year. It was there that he announced himself to the world as a star of the 15-man game, a status he retained right through until his retirement in 2007.

At the 2003 Rugby World Cup, he provided the spark for an England team now famous for their negative tactics, and he scored a crucial try in the final to help secure the trophy.

He returned four years later and was one of the best on show, as England surprised many by making the final once again. Far more than just an electrifying player, he became brave defensively and safe under the high ball.

It may be the exception rather than the rule, but here we see a case where a player was able to transfer between games with near immediate success and become a genuine star in both.

The greatest convert of all time, Brad Thorn really has done it all.

Between the two rugby codes, he has won a Super League title, three NRL Premierships, two State of Origin series, eight caps for the Australian rugby league team, two NPC titles, the Ranfurly Shield, one Super Rugby championship, three Tri-Nations titles, two Grand Slams, a Rugby World Cup, 59-test appearances for the All Blacks and, in Europe, a Heineken Cup title.

Few players could claim to have been involved, and been a key part, in that many championships in their sporting careers, even if that career is 21 years long and has not yet concluded. In fact, it is Thorn's ability to keep going the way he does that really defies belief.

Even more impressive is he has transferred between the two codes as a forward, not as a back as most others have done. When he came to union in 2001, after a seven year stint in league, he was required to learn a whole new skill set, as being a forward in union is vastly different to being a forward in league. 

He had to learn to scrum, a department in which he became possibly the world's best lock. He had to learn to jump in a lineout, which he did, and by the end of his career, he was an effective jumper at No. 2.

Most importantly, he had to learn the complexities of the breakdown: when to commit, when to fan out, when he was entitled to the ball, the technique in cleaning out.

Along with the transferable skills of ball-carrying and tackling, these were all things he had to master, and none of them are abilities that come naturally. 

When he retired from international rugby union in 2011, Thorn was arguably the best lock in the game. At his peak in rugby league, he was right up there with the best in his position in the world, too.

When you consider he was playing, in technical terms, vastly different roles in each game, that really is remarkable.

Probably only Anthony Mundine had a harder transition to make, in terms of players on this list, when one considers the difference between the skills required from them in their two sports. Even Jarryd Hayne arguably has an easier task, as he will primarily rely on the same skill set he already possesses.

So here is definitive proof, if very much the exception to the rule, that it is possible and can be done.  

He has been in the news for all the wrong reasons of late, but Karmichael Hunt is a great case to examine in terms of hopping between football codes.

The rugby league star seemed poised for a long and successful career before defecting firstly to rugby union in late-2009 and then to the AFL for five years, before returning to rugby union this year.

A strong runner who was difficult to tackle and lethal on the counter, Hunt could have become one of the great fullbacks in rugby league.

He was the first choice State of Origin No. 1 for Queensland for much of his career, beating out Billy Slater and Matt Bowen for the jersey, while also filling the fullback's shoes at times for Australia. That in itself is no mean feat. 

Hunt, though, is an example of a superstar athlete who had mastered one sport but could not transfer his skills to another.

Despite flashes of promise, including a solid 2011 season in the AFL with the Gold Coast Suns, he never went on to become a top player.

In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald he stated the things he found the hardest were learning the new skills and tactics the game demanded, while also having to change his body shape.

That is often the reality of changing sports, and for every player who was successful, such as Brad Thorn, there has been 10 to 50 players who have not been successful.

Hunt ended his AFL career last year and has taken up a contract with the Reds in Super Rugby. His role there should be more similar to the one he played in rugby league, but it is yet to be seen how he will fare— as the off-field issues alluded to above have prevented him seeing much playing time.

The previous slides have highlighted specific cases, in some ways the extremes.

In the likes of Brad Thorn, Jason Robinson and Anthony Mundine, we have seen how players can leave a sport and be just as successful in another. On the flip side, Benji Marshall, Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau—on his foray into the AFL—have shown how it can so horribly wrong.

Then there is the middle ground—the likes of Sonny Bill Williams—the men who never truly learn their new sport but are good enough to get away with it. Or Berrick Barnes, a player with virtually no profile in league, but one who went on to have a reasonable career in union.

But there have been so many others. In many ways, it is these others that represent the more general trend: they leave, do little and, in a lot of cases, either come back or try something else new, similar to Hunt.

Think of the likes of Andrew Walker, Timana Tahu, Ryan Cross, Shontayne Hape and Andy Farrell. None of these men ever really fully convinced at rugby union—that they all played internationally is as much a reflection of the quality available to their nations, except perhaps in the case of Walker. That said, they all did make the international level in their second sport and deserve plaudits for that.

Then below this there have been more that have not even achieved that much. There were the failed experiments of Nathan Blacklock, Lesley Vainikolo, Craig Wing and the original league to union convert Willie Carne.

Lote Tuqiri and Wendell Sailor were both solid, if limited, rugby union players, but neither really cemented themselves in the game and both returned to their original sport.

Now you cannot knock these men for wanting to give something a go, particularly if it was something they really wanted to do. But it does go to show how many talented rugby league players have struggled in their attempts to play another game.

Perhaps this shows just how hard Jarryd Hayne's task will be. Many have tried to transition from rugby league to other sports, primarily rugby union and Aussie Rules, but few have done so successfully. More to the point, no one has ever tried to make the transition to the NFL.

The man says it is his dream. For that reason, you cannot criticise him for going. He is not going for the money and is leaving the NRL in the best form of his life. It is something he is doing for no reason other than that he wants to do it.

There is something appealing about that, and you can bet there will be very few people who will not want to see him be successful in his journey.