O’Driscoll’s terrifying comparison between NFL phenom and Test prop does not look good for rugby
After a video emerged last year of an American football player Jordan Davis running the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, Brian O’Driscoll made a terrifying comparison between him and France tighthead Uini Atonio.
The 23-year-old Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle and former Georgia Bulldogs player ran 40 yards in 4.82 seconds, which is a mightily impressive time. Oh, and he did it weighing 341 lbs (156kgs).
That means he ran that time at the same weight as the beastly France and La Rochelle prop. Now we do not exactly know what times Atonio has posted in the 40-yard dash, but it is a safe bet to say that it is much, much slower than 4.82 seconds. O’Driscoll shared this video on Twitter with this comparison.
Now before this leaves every rugby fan quaking in their boots, this time was actually a record for anyone weighing 310 pounds or more. Nevertheless, it does make people wonder what would happen if a player like Davis made the switch to rugby, or perhaps how fast props could be in rugby.
This is what was written on the NFL website: “Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis kicked off Day 3 at the NFL Scouting Combine with a truly jaw-dropping moment.
“At 341 pounds, Davis ran a 4.78-second 40-yard dash, creating a stir at Lucas Oil Stadium and beyond with a freakish display of speed for a player of his size. His first run was unofficially clocked at 4.82 but the official time was even better. Not surprisingly, he decided not to run a second attempt, even though the official time had not yet been released.
“His time is the fastest in the NFL Network era (since 2003) for a combine participant of 310 pounds or more, per Next Gen Stats.
“Later during Saturday’s workout, Davis posted a 10-foot-3 broad jump, which is the longest such jump since 2003 by a combine participant who weighed 300 or more pounds.”
This guy is Uini Antonio running a 4.8 😳😳😳 https://t.co/O8MJHiAMHA
— Brian O’Driscoll (@BrianODriscoll) March 6, 2022
