Christian Wade has become the ultimate beast after NFL return
Christian Wade has been back in rugby for a matter of weeks, but he is looking better and better with every game.
The former England winger has always had great pace and unreal footwork, and he still does, but it looks as though he added a fair bit of power to his game during his four years out with the Buffalo Bills in the NFL.
This was shown no more clearly in the first half of Racing 92’s visit to Brive on Saturday. Wade was given a bit of space, and he made Brive fly-half Enzo Herve pay, sending him flying backwards before offloading to Juan Imhoff who in turn passed to Nolann le Garrec for a try. This was some impressive power from the 31-year-old which he perhaps did not show as much in his first spell in rugby.
Take a look at the run:
#TOP14 – L’action de J9
“C’est quoi ce nouveau maillot ? Ils jouent en orange maintenant les All Blacks ?” 😅
Magnifique essai du @racing92 une action aussi originale que ces beaux maillots 🟠🔵 pic.twitter.com/G3JB4JR4zz— TOP 14 Rugby (@top14rugby) October 30, 2022
Wade showed his raw pace later in the match in setting up Antoine Gibert’s try. The former Wasps man was given just a bit too much space out wide, and basically skinned the entire Brive defence. This was all on the way to Racing winning 43-38 at the Stade Amédée-Domenech, which took them to sixth place in the Top 14 table.
Brive XV: 15. Laranjeira ; 14. Jurand, 13. Tuicuvu, 12. Galletier, 11. Muller ; 10. Hervé, 9. Lobzhanidze ; 7. Gué, 8. Papali’i, 6. E. Abadie (cap.) ; 5. Paulos, 4. Delannoy ; 3. Van der Merwe, 2. Karkadze, 1. Brennan.
Replacements: 16. Matu’u, 17. Vanaï, 18. Rixen, 19. Kunavula, 20. Carbonneau, 21. Raffy, 22. Olding, 23. Ceccarelli
Racing 92 XV: 15. Spring ; 14. Imhoff, 13. Saili, 12. Chavancy (cap.), 11. Wade ; 10. Russell, 9. Le Garrec ; 7. Chouzenoux, 8. Hemery, 6. Lauret ; 5. Sanconnie, 4. Palu ; 3. Gomes Sa, 2. Tarrit, 1. Kolingar.
Replacements: 16. Chat, 17. Ben Arous, 18. Bresler, 19. Baudonne, 20. Gibert, 21. Tubuavou, 22. Spring, 23. Nyakane.
