Semi Radradra joins list of great former league stars in rugby
Making the jump from rugby league to union can be a risk, even for the biggest players, but Semi Radradra’s man-of-the-match displays in Japan has put the Fiji attacker among the game’s greatest converts.
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Semi Radradra’s stunning display of line-splitting pace, power and panache has rewritten the rankings of the studs and duds to cross from rugby league to play at the Rugby World Cup.
In just two years, the former Parramatta winger has gone from wowing at Sydney’s suburban grounds in the NRL to being one of the eye-popping headliners on the world stage in Japan.
The Fijian proved no Semi Superstar but the full exhilarating package when equal parts tank and gliding sports car in the near-upset of Wales on Wednesday night.
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In two breathtaking man-of-the-match displays, he has elbowed his way into the conversation as to just who is the most high-impact former league player to excel at a World Cup.
Think Sonny Bill Williams, Brad Thorn, Lote Tuqiri and ol’ twinkle toes Jason Robinson. Ignore England’s 2015 dud Sam Burgess.
Radradra has certainly made one of the fastest and most alert transitions when you consider Wendell Sailor and Sam Burgess grappling with the intricacies of their switches.
The bare stats of Radradra’s 15 ball-carries from the wing for 148m, with five tackle busts, don’t begin to tell the story of his involvement in a pulsating 29-17 contest against Wales that was one of the best spectacles of the tournament.
The bearded attacker was mesmerising with his running, sudden shifts of direction, speed and ability to keep committing defenders by running so directly with the ball in both hands.
Radradra was a menace. One rib-crunching front-on tackle on Welsh fullback Liam Williams would have been felt back in Suva where he was born.
The great shame is that his World Cup is over with Fiji not qualifying to go further. What Radradra has done is rewrite the cross-code record books.
The NRL will have to ogle as onlookers from now on.
Not Parramatta or any other NRL club has the cash to lure him back because, at 27, he is now the hottest of mega-earning prospects for the English and French rugby clubs who will joust for him when he’s off-contract with French club Bordeaux in mid-2020.
RUGBY WORLD CUP STUDS AND DUDS — A LEAGUE CONVERT’S TALE
STUDS
1 Brad Thorn (All Blacks). The poster boy for league converts because he made it in the pack not the backs, learnt a whole new trade as a rugby lock and was much admired by fellow All Blacks in the run to the 2011 World Cup triumph. The first man to knock back an All Blacks jersey in 2001 when he didn’t think he was ready and a Cup winner a decade on.
“Moving from league to excelling as a rugby lock was a near-impossible change to even contemplate for most … one of the wonders of modern football,” former All Black Grant Batty said
2 Sonny Bill Williams (All Blacks). A dominant league forward who excelled in two World Cup victories (2011-15) for the All Blacks as a centre, winger or super-sub. Re-wrote his legacy in the process with his commitment to master a foreign code. Off-loading and game-breaking knack supreme and a third World Cup beckons.
3 Jason Robinson (England). Wonderful footwork made him a crowd favourite. The former Great Britain league winger scored the key try in the 2003 World Cup final win in Sydney. A dazzler who played 56 Tests.
4 Semi Radradra (Fiji). Eye-popping arrival as one of the game’s most influential wingers at this tournament in Japan. Two tries and three try-assists against Georgia was a first for the Cup, and topped by a big game against a bigger rival in Wales.
5 Lote Tuqiri (Australia). Always rated the best of Australia’s league converts to rugby by his coach Eddie Jones. Soared brilliantly for the high-catch try in the 2003 final that ignited hopes of a Wallabies win. Two World Cups.
6 Israel Folau (Australia). An ankle injury limited his 2015 World Cup campaign so we never got to see him as a riveting star on the Cup stage because of the great ruckus that has ended up in court.
7 Mat Rogers (Australia). A natural footballer who made the quickest transition from league to rugby of any Australian. Brilliant from broken play and the 2003 World Cup fullback.
HONOURABLE MENTION: Craig Wing (Japan), Berrick Barnes (Australia), Wendell Sailor (Australia), Andy Farrell (England), Marika Koroibete (Australia).
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DUDS
1 Sam Burgess (England). A victim of England’s dithering in 2015 when someone thought it was a great idea to turn the crunching Souths rugby league forward into an inside centre. Like the great Kiwi paceman Bob Cunis, Burgess was neither one thing or the other. He was neutered in a dud side with no clear vision.
2 Iestyn Harris (Wales). The “Welsh Wizard” of league fame played four games at the 2003 World Cup without ever setting the stage alight.
Originally published as Semi Radradra joins list of great former league stars in rugby