Super Rugby's Rene Ranger suited for the NFL

my rugby/league NFL team: Jarryd Hayne (Strong Safety). Josh Dugan (Free Safety). Cory Jane (Cornerback). Richard Kahui (Cornerback). Thierry Dusatoir (Middle Linebacker). Richard McCaw (Middle Linebacker). Richard Hill (Middle Linebacker). Schalk Burger (Outside Linebacker). Juan Smith (Outside Linebacker). Jerome Kaino (Outside Linebacker). Greg Inglis (Wide Receiver). Israel Folau (Wide Receiver). Pierre Spies (Tight End). Imanol Harino-something (Tight End). SBW (Tight End). Ma'a Nonu (Running Back). Alesana Tuilagi (Running Back). Digby Ioane (Running Back). Rupeni Caucau (Running Back). Bryan Habana (Kick/Punt Returner). Quade Cooper (Cheerleader).

or troy polamalu playing open side cullen would've made an awesome tailback and jerry collins would've been an awesome strong side linebacker

3 Defensive/Offensive Linemen (Haloti Ngata, Ndamakung Suh and Kris Jenkins) can push a 8men scrum alone, why we even bother comparing both sports, its totally different set up.........rugby is rugby and gridiron is gridiron.......let Ranger run into Ray Lewis (ILB-Ravens) or Patrick willis (49ers)...............to me if theres a player that would probably fit in the NFL is Schalk Burger as a Linebacker if trained properly....................Ma'a Nonu will make a good RB/FB and Alesana Tuilagi will make a good RB/FB and Rupeni Caucua would have made a good RB if he can stay disciplined and avoid running away from his team committments

Mattakll, Never underestimate the stupidity and arrogance of anyone who follows only one sport.

NFL may not be big on fitness but is all about building strength and speed. rugby training is not harder than NFL its just different linemen arent fat, they're big. they may look fat but they possess a lot speed and strength. the most technical posistion in GridIron is the linemen and like rugby you dont get anywhere if your forwards (linemen) arent working. luk206 said " I would love to see one of those big fat guys pack down in the front row of a scrum they would field of a heart attack" would love to see a rugby player try and hold/advance the lineOfScrimmage, or take a hand off down the busiest hole 1 or 2. i played gtridiron for 11 years and i used to love seeing rugby and league players rock up and then have the sht scared out of them from a hit. generalising here a bit but most league and rugby players arent suited to gridiron because they cant get over the fact that u dont have to have the ball to be smashed. u have to be aware at all times during the plays. i love rugby, but i love playing gridiron

wow, have any of u guys actually played gridIron? great sport. i've never been hit so hard. loved it and fully understood why the pacific islanders love it. anyway ranger couldnt go to nfl. there is loads to learn. rangers too old. they prefer to grab kids(14-16 y.o.) and nurture them in the game up to varsity ball. kovana - they play in intervals to keep the body fresh. this isnt about endurance, but more about a sprinting. sure they arent as fit but consider that they have a rest, get their breath back then start again. all tackles and moves are being done at sprint speed. hits are always put in at full speed and the tackler is wearing a full metal helmet. can be real painful if u dont have your wits about u. those belittling NFL keep in mind that super contracts are a pittance to NFL.

What a load of rubbish .... Ranger dosnt play NFL and no top level professional rugby player has ever made a successful conversion to NFL. The same goes for soccer to rugby union, union or league to AFL, and vice versa. Rugby League to Union, and Union to League, yes .. because the core skills are the same. Some professional soccer and AFL players have converted to NFL ... in what position .. as punters .. where there job is non contact and is only to kick the ball, not in contact positions. The core skills in NFL are completely different to rugby ... and anyway, with the number of lifelong, trained and highly skilled players that come out of the us college football (nfl) programs there is no need for NFL teams to ever even think about recruiting rugby players.

NF.. I have hardly seen Rugby fans come on to a site and continually spout 'Our Rugby players are superior athletes to League'.. Its nearly always the other way round. Majority of Rugby fans think rugby players, even the greats, are humans... flesh and fallible humans. Not Freaks of Nature, supermen etc who play in the NRL.. who in the end become immortals.

Rugby Training is harder than NFL training. It will be a walk in the park for ranger.

'What i dislike is the over exaggerations about em being the best and most superior athletes. Much like how league fans view their game as well.' A minority of every code supporter do tend to over-exaggerate but you being a unionist makes leaguies a easy target to pick on. Now hopefully this comment gets published time it seems our leaguies cannot respond to some ridiculous claims made by the likes of kovana about our sport typical bias towards union on this site.

amazes me that people cant see the chain here. People outside rugby thing props are fat and unfit....we all know the unfit part of that is completely untrue.

point and case.

I would love to see one of those big fat guys pack down in the front row of a scrum they would field of a heart attack

Kovan. So you retract your comment ''If they practice so much… Why do they only play in 30 second intervals with 2 min breaks in between?'' thats exactly the bar room BS I am talking about and I know you're not usually like that...but get your facts right before you make statements and you'll sound legit: 1) each play usually lasts more like 8 seconds than 30. 2) play clock allows them a 45 second break between plays. + 3 time outs per half. So where you get 2 minutes from I have no idea. 3) again, the games format isn't built around the players being unfit....the players are trained and honed to fit the sport. A sport that requires refined skills. Do you ask the same question of sprint cyclists or runners? No I bet

yep sole you're right. I guess the point is there is no question a pro rugby player is generally a better all round athlete the game just demands it. Just as NFL demands players to be more refined at a certain skill set. So the theory of comparing apples to oranges is no strong than the average rugby fan talking about NFL...and Vice Versa. I cringe when I hear NFL fans going on about the 'bigger hits' and 'bigger players'....yes again, the format of the game allows and therefore demands this. People who dont get this are generally bar room experts who listen to their mate Tezza rather than actually watching/researching a sport.

Rumours have it... renger was one of the most talented youngsters on the scene.. when he rocked up to northland trials barefoot (no boots) wearing his hat sideways and a cigarette in his mouth... he impressed... but I think ranger has taken a plunge... with all the talent in the country.. lelia masaga, hosea gear, nonu, smith, fruen, ben smith, nanai williams, dagg, kahui, jane, and the rest.... and his assault charge... man he has a lot of hard work ahead of him!!! I hate to say it.. but.. renger only plays rugby when he feels like playing rugby.. and I think that might be his downfall!!! but there is no denying him the fact that he is bloody talented.. I remember games in 2009 where it took 4 or 5 guys to stop him... Renger was the talk of the town in auckland.. but now he's kinda gone missing... I hope 2012 he can get back to his best and just carve up defences with ease.. instead of being benched against the reds in the semifinal!!!!!!!!! c'mon pat lam.. sort it out!!!

I tend to agree with Matt, I've been a long time NFL fan (Falcons) and the misconception about "the big fat guys" that play either side of the ball as non-athletes is disappointing to say the least. Particularly when an O-Lineman is expected to have some of the quickest feet in the entire team. For 330 pounders to shift their weight and move their feet to protect from speed rushers rip/swim/spin moves or bull rushes is actually quite phenomenal. Not to mention the ridiculous weights these guys push on a general basis. I think what we fail to understand is the speciality of positions in NFL which I guess can be viewed as both a positive and a negative thing.

Matt, they are highly trained athletes, just like Rugby, league, Soccer and AFL players. What i dislike is the over exaggerations about em being the best and most superior athletes. Much like how league fans view their game as well.

dear me I wish people would know a bit about NFL before they comment. Its actually a bit cringe worthy. To suggest that NFL players (any of them) are not trained athletes is embarrassing. They are perhaps the most finely and specifically trained players of any ball sport on earth. So specific that fools that know little about the game assume they are not. As for the pie in the sky debate about about who would be a good player and who wouldn't be, I can only assume we have some 10 year olds on the forum now. Danny, interesting points. I read Colin Scotts book. Get it if you can find it.