He has ditched the helmet and padding, but that is just the start for Super Bowl winner Nate Ebner as he embarks on a fast-track transition to rugby sevens in time for the Rio Olympics.
Ebner, driven to make the USA Olympic team by the memory of his late rugby-loving father, made his return to the sport of his youth at the Hong Kong 10s tournament yesterday.
However, the 27-year-old New England Patriots special teams player said it is no easy matter to take up sevens, the shortest and fastest form of rugby with a heavy emphasis on hard running and handling skills.
Photo: AP
“Nothing will really prepare you for it until you just go out and play,” he said at the 10s, the traditional curtain-raiser for this weekend’s famous Hong Kong Sevens.
Ebner is only taking a temporary break from the NFL and is to return to the Patriots following the Rio Olympics, after he signed a new two-year contract with last year’s Super Bowl winners.
US media said Ebner’s Olympic bid is inspired by memories of his father, Jeff, the mentor of his sporting career until he was tragically beaten to death in an attempted robbery in 2008.
Ebner’s father steered him through a successful early career in rugby, in which he represented the US at junior levels, before he joined the Ohio State American football program.
“I was raised playing rugby, I grew up at a young age playing rugby, so it has always been part of my life,” he said.
His experiences in rugby leave him in the rare position of being able to switch sports for just a few months — something that has proved tough for others.
Australian rugby league star Jarryd Hayne failed to make the grade with the San Francisco 49ers last season, although he is training for another attempt this year.
“At the top level, it is too hard,” Ebner said.
Those are the challenges Ebner is facing if he is firstly to earn a place in Mike Friday’s USA Sevens team, and then be part of a successful Olympics campaign.
However, the difficulties are worth tackling, with the prize of a coveted Olympics appearance at stake — just a year after winning the Super Bowl.
“I could imagine that being a part of the Olympics, let alone winning a medal or anything like that, would be a very humbling experience that would be unforgettable,” Ebner said.
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