Alan Jones laughs at Jarryd Hayne in awkward radio moment

OF all the things the Sydney radio broadcaster could have talked to Jarryd Hayne about — why this?

SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 18: Jarryd Hayne #38 of the San Francisco 49ers looks on from the sidelines against the Baltimore Ravens during an NFL game at Levi's Stadium on October 18, 2015 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

JARRYD Hayne has often described his journey from rugby league to the NFL as a rollercoaster — and perhaps the most embarrassing moment came in his first game.

Fielding a punt in a Monday Night Football clash against the Minnesota Vikings, Hayne was caught off guard when the ball dropped short, and he fumbled the ball.

The San Francisco 49ers running back has no doubt done his best to forget that lowlight, but in an awkward moment on Sydney radio on Thursday morning 2GB presenter Alan Jones thought it would be a good idea to make Hayne relive it.

“Have a listen to this,” said Jones, before pressing play on the audio of the ESPN commentary of the play.

“Jarryd Hayne, rugby player, diving and catching and fumbling!” ESPN’s Chris Berman said. “Here’s a story we gotta tell you. That punt was shorter than he anticipated. When you play rugby, this is what you do — you catch the ball. And his first touch in the NFL, is a fumble.”

Jones cackled with laughter after the replay finished and while Hayne took it well, you could forgive him for being slightly unimpressed.

“I was devastated with that,” Hayne said. “All I was thinking is if the ball goes over my head, it’s going to be devastating. So I got back a little bit extra deep and the kicker mis-hit it and it came short. My league instincts just took over.

“After the game my coach was like ‘look, you don’t have to catch everything, you could have let that bounce and it would have been fine’ ... that was a huge learning curve.”

To be fair, Jones did also replay the audio of Hayne’s 53-yard gain in the preseason against the Houston Texans — which came on just his second touch in the American game. But laughing at the fumble so boisterously was a bit over the top.

Jarryd Hayne and DuJuan Harris go over plays in the locker room.

Hayne will be looking to repeat the spectacular preseason he enjoyed last year when he returns to San Francisco.

He’ll once again start well down the pecking order at the running back position after the 49ers announced the re-signing of Shaun Draughn on Thursday.

Draughn was signed as an injury replacement for No. 1 back Carlos Hyde last season but impressed enough to be offered a new one-year deal.

That leaves Hyde, Draughn, DuJuan Harris and Mike Davis in the backs corps alongside Hayne. Reggie Bush’s future remains unclear.

One advantage Hayne has in second season is a better familiarity with NFL lingo. The 28-year-old told Jones he was completely lost in his first month of training last year as he grappled to come to grips with the playbook.

“The first four weeks ... there was just so much doubt,” Hayne said. “I couldn’t remember the plays, just couldn’t do it. Every single day they’d come out with 30 to 40 different plays and it’s literally like lego blocks — one little thing would change and that would mean something completely different.

“We’d be in our video sessions for hours and I’d walk out going ‘I did know anything he just said, didn’t understand it, didn’t know what was going on’.”

Originally published as Alan Jones laughs at Jarryd Hayne in awkward radio moment