Christian Wade takes NFL switch to the next level

Former England wing Christian Wade has reached the next key stage of his transformation from rugby union star to American Football player by putting on the extensive padding players wear to try and avoid the massive hits in the National Football League and the Buffalo Bills rookie admits the extra protection has given him a feeling of “invincibility”. Wade is attempting to make the massive sporting leap from rugby union to become an NFL running back as part of the league’s international player pathway project and the former Wasps wing admits that the first contact training with the Bills has taken the challenge to a new level. Wade told News10NBC; “It’s been a Hell of an experience so far and this training camp has gone up a level with a bit of contact and getting used to the running plays and being hit with the pads on. I am used to not wearing pads so I know what it feels like to get hit, but with the pads you almost feel a bit more invincible I guess and that’s why it is so much harder. “ The former international is still trying to take in all of the information needed to understand the play-book used by the Bills offense and to recognise his part in the system. He has been helped by veteran players on the Bills squad who have taken time to help the rookie get used to a new sport. He added: “The hardest part as definitely been the amount of information that I have to take on board and digest then bring onto the field maybe the same day. The physical side is demanding as we are going 100 per cent on every play with no rest sometimes. In rugby it was more of an on-going game and slower paced. “There are guys who have had multiple years in the league and also the other guys have five to six years so there is lots of experience and it is great for me to learn from those guys even if it is off the field stuff. Any little things I can pick their brains and they are all really helpful which is great. This first training camp has been so much fun.”