User:MacRusgail/Sandbox5

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This is a list of rugby union players who have been notable in other sports.

There are many players who have converted one football code to another or even changed from other sports at a professional or representational level.

Globalisation is increasing the opportunities for players to transfer to different countries and to different professional sports, including the codes of football.

Angling[edit]

Athletics[edit]

Baseball[edit]

Basketball[edit]

Softball[edit]

  • Sharon Blaney

Bobsleigh[edit]

Heather Moyse

Boxing[edit]

Cricket[edit]

This is a list of sports people who have played both cricket and rugby union at a high level. First-class cricket, provincial rugby and international cricket or rugby are considered to be high level for the purposes of this list. To be eligible, players must have appeared for their country's national side in at least one of the sports. The lists below are alphabetical and sorted by the nationality of the player.

Alfred Shaw and Arthur Shrewsbury, who organised the first British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888 were also noted cricketers.

It should be noted that while the Wales national rugby union team is 

a force in international rugby, the Wales national cricket team

plays only rarely, and the nation of Wales is usually subsumed under England for cricketing purposes.

Name Cricket team/club Rugby team
Rob Andrew Cambridge University Cricket Club England national rugby union team
Henry Brougham Oxford University Cricket Club England national rugby union team
Martin Donnelly New Zealand national cricket team England national rugby union team
C.B. Fry[1] England cricket team Oxford University RFC
[[Blackheath Rugby

Club|Blackheath]]
Barbarians

Reginald Hands South African national cricket team England national rugby union team
Dusty Hare Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club England national rugby union team
Ronald Lagden Oxford University Cricket Club England national rugby union team
Tuppy Owen-Smith South African national cricket team England national rugby union team
John Raphael Surrey County Cricket Club /
[[Oxford University

Cricket Club]]

England national rugby union team
Reggie Schwarz South African national cricket team England national rugby union team
Maurice Turnbull England cricket team Wales national rugby union team
Clive van Ryneveld South African national cricket team England national rugby union team
Rudi van Vuuren[2] Namibia cricket team Namibia national rugby union team
Martin Donnelly New Zealand national cricket team England national rugby union team
Rod Latham New Zealand national cricket team Canterbury rugby union team
Jeff Wilson New Zealand national cricket team New Zealand national rugby union team
Leslie Balfour-Melville[3][4] Scotland national cricket team /
[[Marylebone Cricket

Club]]

Scotland national rugby union team
Angus Buchanan[4] Scotland national cricket team Scotland national rugby union team
Eric Liddell[5] Scotland national cricket team Scotland national rugby union team
Bill Maclagan[4] Scotland cricket team Scotland national rugby union team
[[British and Irish

Lions]] (captain)

Henry Renny-Tailyour[6] Kent County Cricket Club /
Marylebone Cricket Club 		Scotland national rugby union team
Hugo Southwell Sussex Scotland national rugby union team
Morne du Plessis Western Province cricket team South Africa national rugby union team
Reggie Schwarz South African national cricket team England national rugby union team
Freddy Turner Eastern Province cricket team /
[[Gauteng cricket

team|Transvaal cricket team]]

South Africa national rugby union team
Maurice Turnbull England cricket team Wales national rugby union team
Wilf Wooller Glamorgan County Cricket Club Wales national rugby union team
Craig Evans Zimbabwe national cricket team

Cycling[edit]

Darts[edit]

Field hockey[edit]

Golf[edit]

Hammer throw[edit]

Hurling[edit]

Ice Hockey[edit]

Judo[edit]

Karate[edit]

Lawn Bowls[edit]

  • Leo Camron, also a keen advocate of cricket, and founding father of Israeli rugby.

Netball[edit]

Polo[edit]

Putting the weight[edit]

Racquets[edit]

A statue in Kilkee, Republic of Ireland, of the young Richard Harris playing rackets.

Rugby fives[edit]

Note that rugby fives is not a form of rugby football

Sailing[edit]

Skiing[edit]

Squash[edit]

Shinty[edit]

Shot put[edit]

Table tennis[edit]

Tennis[edit]

Water polo[edit]

Weight lifting[edit]

Wrestling[edit]

Yachting[edit]

Football codes[edit]

Main article: List of players who have converted from one football code to another

It is extremely common for players of one code of football to switch to another, and the interchange between rugby union and rugby league, which are fairly similar has been huge. Until the advent of professionalisation in the 1990s, it was largely a one-way traffic, although there are now a number of former RL players in RU.

In some countries, such as Australia where multiple codes are popular and the practice of switching codes is common they are known simply as a code convert.[8] In Australia star code converts can have a substantial impact on the football codes. For instance, Dally Messenger's defection from rugby union to rugby league was considered a pivotal moment in the establishment of the latter code over other codes in Australia.[9][10]

Association football is getting the global monopoly on the term "football", but all of the codes below are known as "football" in their local contexts.

American football[edit]

See also: Comparison of American football and rugby union

Rugby union and American football share the same origins, but have evolved into very different games. Both are very physical and require similar body types.

Name Country Top American football level Top rugby union level Top representation level
Dave Hodges USA NCAA Division III Celtic League USA (15s)
Dan Lyle USA NCAA Division I FCS English Premiership USA (15s)
Leonard Peters USA NFL USA Rugby Men's Club Division I USA sevens
Richard Tardits France, later USA NFL USA Rugby Men's Club Division I USA (15s)

NB: Tardits switched codes twice: to American football as a young adult, and back to rugby union after a brief NFL career. He played for Biarritz Olympique and the France under-21 national team before switching to American football, and played for the USA national team after returning to his original code. This entry outlines his career after his second switch of codes.

Name Country Top rugby union level Top American football level Top representation level Playing Era
Colin Scotts Australia Australian schoolboys NFL Australia 1980s
Steve Tasker United States Northwestern University NFL, Buffalo Bills Pro Bowl 1985-1997
Gavin Hastings Scotland International WLAF Scotland/British Lions 1990s
Gary Parker Scotland Club (Melrose RFC) WLAF N/A 1980s/90s
Gary Anderson South Africa Brettonwood High School, Durban, South Africa NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans N/A 1982-2004
Richard Tardits France,
later USA		 Biarritz Olympique, USA NFL, Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots USA Rugby 1980s/90s
David Dixon New Zealand New Zealand under-19 NFL, Minnesota Vikings New Zealand 1994-2004
Haloti Ngata United States Highland High School, Salt Lake City, Utah NFL, Baltimore Ravens N/A 2006-present
Stewart Bradley United States Highland High School, Salt Lake City, Utah NFL, Philadelphia Eagles N/A 2007-present

Chloe Butler

Association Football (Soccer)[edit]


Name Country Top rugby union Level Top association football Level Top representation level Playing Era
J.W. Sutcliffe England Bradford P.A./Heckmondwike Bolton Wanderers/Manchester United England (both) 1880s/1910s
Adam Holloway England Henley Hawks/
Crusaders		 Strathcona Terriers FC England/New Zealand/Canada 2000s
Tony Ward Ireland Munster/Ireland/British and Irish Lions Shamrock Rovers/Limerick United British and Irish Lions 1970s and 1980s
Tommy Moroney Ireland Munster West Ham United Republic of Ireland 1940s
Aaron Ramsey Wales Caerphilly RFC (youth team) Cardiff City/Arsenal Wales 2000s
Henry Renny-Tailyour Scotland Scotland Royal Engineers A.F.C. Scotland 1870s, 1880s

Australian rules football[edit]

As in rugby league and Australian rules, early in the history of the two codes in Australia the two codes were interchangeable [citation needed]. There is a much greater divide today. Jason Akermanis was the first professional Australian football player to suggest a switch to Rugby[11]. Nevertheless, there are still some positions and roles that have commonalities (particularly those that involve kicking and catching such as the backs and second row in rugby union; half forwards and rucks in Australian Rules)[12]. Also at amateur level, conversion is quite common, as in the case of many start-up Australian Rules clubs in countries such as France [13] and developing Aussie Rules countries such as New Zealand and Samoa where there are dual-internationals at junior level.

Name Country Top Aussie rules Level Top rugby union Level Top representation level
Nick Evans' New Zealand Falcons Under 21 All Blacks New Zealand (RU), New Zealand U21 (AR)
Rambo Tavana Samoa Samoa Manu Samoa Samoa (AR), Samoa (RU)
Mikaele Pesamino Samoa Samoa Manu Samoa Samoa (AR), Samoa (RU)
Alec Boswell Timms Australia/Scotland Geelong Scotland/British Isles Geelong (AR), Scotland/British Isles (RU)

In recent years, several schoolboy rugby union players have made a transition to Australian Rules, including Ray Smith (Queensland Under 19), Jim Stynes, Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Adam Campbell (New Zealand Under 15), Daniel Merrett, Brad Moran (West Midlands (England) Under 16) and Tom Williams (Queensland Under 16) and more recently Canadian international Mike Pyke.

Name Country Top Rugby union Top Aussie rules level Top representation level Playing Era
Mike Pyke Canada Top 14 (France) AFL, Sydney Swans Canada (rugby) 2004-

Canadian football[edit]

Gaelic football[edit]

Name Country Top Gaelic football level Top rugby union Level Top representation level
David Beggy Ireland Meath senior football team Leinster Rugby
Mick Galwey Ireland Kerry County Team Munster Rugby Ireland national rugby union team
Brian Rigney Ireland Local Team, Offaly Leinster Rugby Ireland national rugby union team
Brian Carney Ireland Local team Munster Rugby Ireland national rugby union team
Tomás O'Leary Ireland Cork Minors (captain) Munster Rugby Ireland national rugby union team
Moss Keane Ireland UCC GAA, Kerry under-21 Munster Rugby Ireland national rugby union team, British and Irish Lions
Gavin Duffy Ireland Mayo GAA minor (under-18) football team Connacht Rugby, NEC Harlequins Ireland national rugby union team
Shane Horgan Ireland Meath GAA minor (under-18) football team Leinster Rugby Ireland national rugby union team, British and Irish Lions
Dick Spring Ireland Kerry GAA Munster Rugby, London Irish Ireland national rugby union team

see also Category:Gaelic footballers who switched code

Name Country Top rugby union Level Top Gaelic football Level Top representation level Playing Era
Shane Byrne Ireland Leinster Rugby, Ireland, British and Irish Lions Aughrim GAA 1990s, 2000s
Eric Miller Ireland Old Wesley, Leicester Tigers, Leinster, the Barbarians, Ireland, British and Irish Lions Dublin senior football team Dublin senior football team 1990s, 2000s

Kevin O'Flanagan - Dublin GAA

Dual Code Rugby/Rugby League[edit]

See also: Comparison of rugby league and rugby union
See also: Dual-code rugby internationals

The number of rugby union players who have gone over to rugby league is massive. However, with the "free gangway" since the professonalisation of rugby union, the traffic is no longer all one way.

Because so many have switched between the two codes of rugby, it is difficult to produce a representative list.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Fry was an all rounder, and was also a footballer for Southhampton and Portsmouth, an excellent long jumper and had many other sporting skills
  2. ^ Van Vuuren is the first man to compete in the final stages of world-cup competitions in cricket and [[rugby union]] in the same year. See - [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,1383621,00.html The ten greatest sporting all-rounders - Guardian Unlimited]
  3. ^ Leslie Balfour-Melville was also captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club and had many other sporting achievements leading to his induction as an "All-Rounder" in the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame.
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference RugMisc1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Also a noted runner, and subject of Chariots of Fire
  6. ^ Renny-Tailyour also represented Scotland at football.
  7. ^ http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingTraditions/1996/st1301/st1301h.pdf
  8. ^ Globalisation and the future of indigenous football codes. Lionel Frost. Economic Society of Australia. 2004
  9. ^ http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/06/24/1960300.htm
  10. ^ http://www.rl1908.com/Rugby-Rebellion/bookrelease.htm
  11. ^ http://aru.rugby.com.au/news/2002_june/akermanis_serious_about_union_switch_14128,7131.html
  12. ^ [1]
  13. ^ [2]

External links[edit]

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