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Author Topic: Article about Lasike  (Read 984 times)

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Fearless Fred

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Article about Lasike
« on: Friday 07-Sep-2018, 10:39* »
In the Times so behind a paywall

Quote
Born a Kiwi. Raised a Mormon. Made in NFL. How Harlequins’ new boy finally hit the rugby big-time

A decade ago, Paul Lasike had just been part of a national under-17 training camp in New Zealand with Julian Savea and Charlie Ngatai, players who would go on to become All Blacks. The ninth of ten children raised in a Mormon family on Auckland’s north shore, Lasike’s ambition was the same as theirs: to graduate from high school and play top-class professional rugby.

What Lasike could never have envisaged in 2008 was the long and colourful journey that would take him there, via two years as a Mormon missionary in Birmingham, Alabama, a conversion to American football in Utah and three years in the NFL with Chicago Bears.

This time last year, Lasike was working in construction before returning to rugby. In February he was capped by the United States, in June he helped the Eagles to a historic victory over Scotland and on Saturday he made a thunderous debut for Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop.

Mormons do not believe in fate. They argue the concept “stifles, discourages and hinders the progress and growth possible for the children of God”. Whatever the spiritual explanation, Lasike’s life changed when his dorm master at Church College, Hamilton, proposed the idea of a three-month rugby scholarship in the United States.

Lasike thought he would enjoy a season of rugby with Highland High School in Salt Lake City and then return home to rejoin the Waikato academy and press ahead with his ambition to play Super Rugby. “Long story short, those three months turned into ten years,“ Lasike says, his accent part Kiwi, part American.

He helped Highland to win the national championship and he was offered a scholarship to Brigham Young University (BYU), named after the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One year into his exercise and wellness course, Lasike put sport and study on hold to focus on spirituality.

“My parents raised us as Mormons and so I always knew that when I reached 18 or 19 I was going to go and do some missionary work,” he says. “I dedicated those two years to serving other people in Alabama.

“You are going out to serve other people but the biggest person who benefited was definitely me. You are going out as a kid, away from family and you have to fend for yourself. You are the one paying for it so there are a lot of sacrifices that have to go into it. I grew up. I would go out there and read the Bible and the Book of Mormon with random people and try and help them out in any way possible.

“We would knock on doors. It was tough, man. You have to let go of all your pride because you are walking around in a shirt and a tie; it is not embarrassing but there are times when you are like, ‘Man, this is a joke, going and asking people if they want to hear about Jesus Christ.’ But you have to forget that. If they do, then great. And if not, then you just carry on.”

Lasike had one day off a week during his time in Alabama and he started playing pick-up games of touch American football with friends. He got swept up in football fever as first the University of Alabama and then Auburn won national championships during his mission in the state.

Lasike overcame early frustrations with American football to help the BYU Cougars win four national championships
Lasike overcame early frustrations with American football to help the BYU Cougars win four national championships
 
That said, he had still never watched a full match. As a missionary, he was not allowed a television so had to make do with catching highlights or snatches of action on screens in the shopping mall.

When Lasike returned to BYU in 2012, Bronco Mendenhall, the coach of the university American football team, offered him a trial, which led swiftly to a full scholarship and a new career as a running back.

The first time he watched a full game of American football was from the sideline, in full uniform, as BYU played Washington State in front of 65,000 supporters.

Lasike overcame early frustrations with American football to be invited to the collegiate allstar game in 2015. In his final year with BYU he ran the ball 79 times for 364 yards, scoring seven touchdowns.

The Arizona Cardinals came calling first, then he joined Chicago Bears as a full back — like a running back but with extra blocking duties due to their size — playing ten games for them in 2016.

“It was fricking awesome,” he says. “It is hard to explain. When you run out it is such a rush. The American culture for sport is on a different level; it is like soccer in South America or here in England.”

However, Lasike learnt that behind the glamour — and contracts worth up to $135 million (about £105 million) — is a weekly grind. Fringe players in the NFL never know from one week to the next whether they will be cut. That precarious existence took its toll on Lasike, who by now was married with a young family.

When the Bears opted to move away from using a full back, Lasike was cut in May last year. “When I was released I knew quickly I was done with it because I hated the insecure employment,” he says.

After a stint working in construction, Lasike returned to Utah to play for the Warriors in the inaugural Major League Rugby season. Gary Gold called the 18-stone centre into the US squad and he made such an impact in the 30-29 victory over Scotland that European clubs began circling.

“He is a player who has enormous game-changing potential,” said Paul Gustard after persuading Lasike to join Harlequins. Last Saturday he came off the bench and proved it, making three carries for 43 yards as Harlequins thumped Sale Sharks 51-23. A decade after leaving New Zealand, Lasike was playing top-class professional rugby.

This time next year, the United States will be preparing for the World Cup and a group game against England. “The biggest thing that will help the growth of rugby in America is if we turn a few heads on the world stage,” he says. “I believe in Gary Gold. We are 8-0 this year. He has changed the mentality of the team.”

Harlequins, meanwhile, are 1-0 after their statement win against Sale and have the modern day Saints of Northampton in their sights this evening. For Lasike, Franklin’s Gardens is the next destination on a journey that nobody could have predicted ten eventful years ago.

Others who made the switch
Alex Gray
Gray was captain of the England Under-20 team that included Owen Farrell, Joe Launchbury and George Ford. He played sevens for England before joining the NFL’s international player programme. He was a captain for the Atlanta Falcons in pre-season and is in their practice squad.

Christian Scotland-Williamson
Scotland-Williamson started last season playing lock for Worcester Warriors but followed Gray on to the same player pathway in January and made rapid progress, playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers in pre-season. He is in their practice squad for the new NFL campaign.

Nate Ebner
He grew up playing rugby in Ohio and played for the United States sevens team at the age of 17 before switching to American football during his third year at Ohio State University. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2012 and won two Super Bowls. In 2016 he took a sabbatical from the Patriots to play for the USA sevens team at the Olympics.

Gavin Hastings
The former Scotland captain spent the 1996 season playing for the Scottish Claymores in the World League of American Football as a specialist kicker. He helped the team to win the World Bowl at Murrayfield a year after finishing last in the competition.

nowexnavyquin

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Re: Article about Lasike
« Reply #1 on: Friday 07-Sep-2018, 12:33* »
Thank you for the post of the article, didn't realise the impact he had on the game in terms of yards made last weekend on 3 carries, I guess most of those came from his interception. Looking forward to seeing him come up against Burrell tonight, hopefully.

GP2110

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Re: Article about Lasike
« Reply #2 on: Friday 07-Sep-2018, 13:02* »
It's very misleading. I suspect 40 of his 43 yards was his interception and run to the half way line.

Fearless Fred

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Re: Article about Lasike
« Reply #3 on: Friday 07-Sep-2018, 13:04* »
Compared to Dr Desperate Dan's 3yds per carry, no more no less, EVERY time...  ;D

RodneyRegis

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Re: Article about Lasike
« Reply #4 on: Friday 07-Sep-2018, 13:55* »
The first time he watched a full game of American football was from the sideline, in full uniform, as BYU played Washington State in front of 65,000 supporters.


That is insane!

Mr_B

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Re: Article about Lasike
« Reply #5 on: Friday 07-Sep-2018, 14:31* »
That is poor attendance for a USA college game, they are typically up 80k-90k+, been to a few games in Berkley CA and they are amazing to experience, does go on for a bit long though.

T-Bone

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Re: Article about Lasike
« Reply #6 on: Friday 07-Sep-2018, 15:23* »
There's a US college football ground called the big house or something which is circa 100,000 capacity. Nuts

I found it hard to read that article and not sing the songs from the Book of Mormon out loud.

Saw him at the A game on Monday. He is massive

Fearless Fred

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Re: Article about Lasike
« Reply #7 on: Friday 07-Sep-2018, 15:30* »
College Football is in someways even bigger than the NFL. Yes, the big money is in the NFL. But there's not the tribal loyalty in the NFL that there is in College Football. The NFL is a business. There's plenty of history of franchises (for that is what they are) moving city because the new "home" offered them a better deal than the old "home". This removes the link between the local populus and the team. That doesn't happen with college teams, as they *are* fixed to a location, so there's a much stronger emotional link to the local college team than there is to the current nearest NFL franchise that may not be there in a couple of years...

Gone

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Re: Article about Lasike
« Reply #8 on: Friday 07-Sep-2018, 15:50* »
I could repost all my boring college football attendance stats like on the old forum, but yes.

Rubbish college football teams play in front of 60k at home -- the top sides average (yes average) more than 100k attendance each match.

RodneyRegis

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Re: Article about Lasike
« Reply #9 on: Saturday 08-Sep-2018, 11:24* »
That is poor attendance for a USA college game, they are typically up 80k-90k+, been to a few games in Berkley CA and they are amazing to experience, does go on for a bit long though.
wanlsnt talking about the attendance, was talking about the fact that he'd never watched a game before playing.

Gone

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Re: Article about Lasike
« Reply #10 on: Sunday 09-Sep-2018, 13:39* »
That is poor attendance for a USA college game, they are typically up 80k-90k+, been to a few games in Berkley CA and they are amazing to experience, does go on for a bit long though.
wanlsnt talking about the attendance, was talking about the fact that he'd never watched a game before playing.

Ok, but we talked about the attendance - does it have to be an argument?

RodneyRegis

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Re: Article about Lasike
« Reply #11 on: Sunday 09-Sep-2018, 14:13* »
Wha?

Gone

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Re: Article about Lasike
« Reply #12 on: Monday 10-Sep-2018, 09:23* »
Wha?

I'm not sure the poster was making a point about the attendance being relevant to Lasike's experience, simply a chat about the scale of crowds for college football generally...

toast

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Re: Article about Lasike
« Reply #13 on: Monday 10-Sep-2018, 09:33* »
As a matter of interest the USA F1 GP (Austin Texas)  is (has to be) scheduled on a week that the Texas Longhorns are not at home - Kyle Field only has a 102733 capacity! as the city couldn't accommodate both sets of fans, in reality the F1 race wouldn't be able to compete for fans.....

Fearless Fred

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Re: Article about Lasike
« Reply #14 on: Monday 10-Sep-2018, 10:05* »
College sports in the US is Massive business (apart from for the players themselves). Colleges throw millions at coaches, and spend hundreds of millions at facilities, but the athletes get nothing. In fact, they can be penalised for receiving *anything* that could be classed as payment/sponsorship/etc. This video from Last Week Tonight is an eye-opener (be warned, there is swearing in it, although it's bleeped).


 

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