Sad to see Christian wade away
I was recently packing my kitbag and was in the midst of crumpling up an old Rugby Paper to pack inside my boots when I happened across former Wasps and one time England flyer Christian Wade foreshadowing his departure from the sport. In the summer the winger had lamented the lack of diversity in selection in English professional rugby.
Wade spoke about his plans to launch a foundation to help get black state school kids seen and into the sport:
“The amount of Instagram DMs and posts from kids who look up to me and want to play rugby, but don’t know how they can get into good clubs that will give them an opportunity to get scouted, is endless.”
As a black thirty-something from Yorkshire it resonated. Union was and remains a posh boy sport in England. Save for perhaps five weekends in the spring when it takes over terrestrial TV for the Six Nations.
When picked, you see young black players on the wings invariably, occasionally at outside centre but always chosen on the strength of searing pace. Often the speed comes with size to match, but it’s the fleet of foot that catches selectors eyes.
Perception is everything.
I didn’t have either really and in many ways I’m glad. Coaches and opposition players would see me and overestimate what to expect before ultimately underestimating me. The likes of Wade, and before him Ugo Monye became pigeon-holed as unthinking speedsters, with the other more nuanced, skilled parts of their game overlooked or undersold. Much like African footballers are only “legs and lungs”, black players in rugby have to exist through the lens of their physical characteristics.
Christian had to fight the tide of another perception — that he was too small. This is defied by Jason Robinson and Shane Williams before him. It’s defied by the fact he is an inch shorter but heavier than the electric All Black Damien McKenzie.
And then it was that “he couldn’t defend”. This kind of label is a death blow against career aspirations because it is subjective and elusive. It doesn’t need to be backed up by statistics. Once it is out there in world, it becomes subject to confirmation bias among pundits to be parroted by rugby club bores and the twitterati on a weekly basis.
Wade walked out of English rugby with one cap at the age of 27. Arguably the country’s greatest ever finisher, third on the all-time Premiership try-scoring list — the Wasp was disillusioned and it breaks my heart. This is the only country where we would drive a player of Wade’s talent away.
An absolute professional off the field, to see how kids’ eyes light up when the ball was in his hands was to understand the power of sport. I’m not making a case that he should be an England regular, just that he should have been given a fair chance to make his case. He never had the luxury allowed to Mike Brown, Jonny May and Jack Nowell; all of whom had multiple opportunities even when making mistakes.
After tumbling down the pecking order behind old names and new— Wade will instead try at 27 years of age to learn a new sport that welcomes outsiders. It is curious he follows in the footsteps of a former schoolmate and his former England U20s captain. His chances at success are slim, but given that the two mentioned are ex-Premiership players in Christian Scotland-Williamson and Alex Gray and are currently on NFL rosters, there is a chance. And that is all he wanted.
From “the slowest black man alive” to one of the fastest English rugby has had, good luck. If there is a chance of anyone catching an NFL dream in a footrace it is Christian Wade.
