England rugby hero Wilkinson to the NFL?

[nyrmetros]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/3242888.stm

"While most were mesmerized by Jonny Wilkinson's Herculean drop goal in the World Cup final, one pair of eyes probably showed more interest in the England fly-half's handling of routine place kicks.

Those eyes, belonging to an NFL scout from the San Diego Chargers, were on a mission to Australia to see if our Jonny could cut it as a kicker in the USA.

To judge by Wilkinson's heroics throughout the tournament, the verdict was likely an unqualified yes.

All 32 NFL teams will now know about him and it may be only a matter of time before serious offers for his services come in."


Don't do it Johnny! Avoid the evil temptation of the evil NFL at all costs! :)

[billyireland]

I highly doubt there is much truth behind that, or that it will develop. The exact same rumour went aroudn with Irish outhalf Ronan O'Gara to the Dolphins in the spring. Besides, I think plenty of top rugby kickers (e.g: Wilkinson, O'Gara, etc) could easily do fantastic in the NFL. If they can kick from the sidelines and 35-45 yards out at the simultaneously (and a good 50 yards from the middle of hte pitch), I don't see a field goal being much more trouble.

[sendorange]

Lomu was another one linked to the NFL a few years ago.

Won't happen, he doesn't need the money or the hassle of moving to America. He can earn more than enough in Rugy now and of course has the added benefit of more worldwide fame.

[Maczebus]

Originally posted by sendorange
He can earn more than enough in Rugy now and of course has the added benefit of more worldwide fame.

Which he doesn't actually want.

It'll never happen. He actually seems to enjoy playing the sport. Sitting on the sidelines for hours on end just to be brought out once every 50 minutes to kick a goal, wouldn't appeal.

[Doctor Stamen]

It would be a waste of his talents. As the best fly-half in the world, he can kick, run, pass and tackle brilliantly. I may be wrong but an American football kicker trots on, gets the ball punts it between the posts, and buggers off. And don't they put the kicks more or less in front of the posts when going for points ?.

If he wanted easy money, he'd do it. But as he loves rugby, getting involved in the middle of the action, and seems a very quiet guy obsessed with the perfection of his game, I'd be surprised if he did go.

[soccernutter]

Originally posted by Doctor Stamen
It would be a waste of his talents. As the best fly-half in the world, he can kick, run, pass and tackle brilliantly.

Damn did he make some fantastic tackles in the final for a little guy with a banged up shoulder.

[Doctor Stamen]

And he's got 800 points at international level, about 200 less than the top international points scorer, the Great Neil Jenkins of Pontypridd and Wales. Jenkins got around 80-90 caps for Wales, and took a while to amass the 1000 or so points scored. Wilkinson has around 40-50 caps, and is only 24. Although Jenkins has played in an average to crap Welsh team, whilst Wilkinson has been in a competative to brilliant England team, these stats do show just how great he is.

[BenReilly]

Originally posted by sendorange
Lomu was another one linked to the NFL a few years ago.

Won't happen, he doesn't need the money or the hassle of moving to America. He can earn more than enough in Rugy now and of course has the added benefit of more worldwide fame.

Worldwide?

[michaec]

Originally posted by BenReilly
Worldwide? He'll be well known in any of the Rugby playing nations at least. I'm no fan of American Football I admit, but I couldn't tell you the name of a single kicker in the game. I'd be hard pushed to name a current quarterback, the only one I can think of is Brett Farve(sp?), presuming he's still playing.

[Maczebus]

PLus there was that guy who used to kick in his bare feet - or was there more than one?

And Worldwide? Well kind of.
Maybe not population wise but geographically not too far away.
And as opposed to 'domestic fame', which Wilkinson already has in spades (already had before the tournament started) I guess worldwide/international is the next step.
But as was said before, all of that is just chat. He doesn't seem to want it all. Just the money I guess.

[eric_appleby]

I'll tell you what, I'd take this guy as a punter for the Patriots in a heartbeat. Hell, let him play special teams too.

[Jeff]

What Eric said. Even without "NFL" experience, he'd probably be better than Ken Walter.

Other notes, the commentators on the Broncos - Raiders game referred to (Raider punter) Shane Lecler's Rugby kick when he pointed the ball towards the ground on the drop so it will be an end over end kick. Usually quute effective.

[Craig the Aussie]

The "drop punt" is very effective with a rugby or Aussie Rules ball, as they are larger and have relatively rounded ends, unlike a gridiron ball.

The torpedo or spiral punt used by most NFL kickers is a lot more risky with the other balls - it flies a mile if you hit it right, but is way less accurate.

I couldn't handle being a kicker - place kicker or punter - in gridiron. The money would be great, but sitting on my backside all the time would drive me nuts.

[afgrijselijkheid]

didn't san diego punter darren bennett play rugby or aussie rules football?

[Craig the Aussie]

Yep

Played Aussie Rules with Melbourne Demons & West Coast Eagles.

Was OK, but nothing special.

[Doctor Stamen]

I wonder if the goal kickers for American football could do drop goals in a rugby match ?. It's pretty hard to do properly.

[skipshady]

Originally posted by Doctor Stamen
I wonder if the goal kickers for American football could do drop goals in a rugby match ?. It's pretty hard to do properly. Not without practice, obviously, but placekicking is a completely different skill from dropkicking so I'm not sure if you can really make a comparison.

As automatic as field goals appear, it is a difficult skill to master and a good placekicker can be employed into his late 30s because there aren't too many adequate replacements around.

[eric_appleby]

Originally posted by Jeff
Even without "NFL" experience, he'd probably be better than Ken Walter.


Anybody would be better than Walter at this point.
Hell, I could punt a football farther than 18 freakin yards.

[Eric B]

Originally posted by Craig the Aussie
Was OK, but nothing special.

But he's sure made himself a career here in the NFL.

I heard that when he first came to the Chargers that he laid someone out in practice. The coaches didn't want him to do that, since punters usually just kick and try to be the last line of defense, which is a bummer, because I'm sure he could stick a returner just as hard as any 5th-string linebacker relegated to special teams, at least in his prime.

[Eric B]

Originally posted by Craig the Aussie
Was OK, but nothing special.

But he's sure made himself a career here in the NFL.

I heard that when he first came to the Chargers that he laid someone out in practice. The coaches didn't want him to do that, since punters usually just kick and try to be the last line of defense, which is a bummer, because I'm sure he could stick a returner just as hard as any 5th-string linebacker relegated to special teams, at least in his prime.