Christian Wade is eyeing up the Gallagher Premiership all-time try-scoring record as he continues his return to English rugby.
The former Wasps winger left the game in 2018 to pursue a new pathway in the NFL, where he featured as a running back for the Buffalo Bills for three years, playing on their practice squad but never in a competitive NFL match.
He then returned to rugby at Racing 92 in the Top 14, before signing for Gloucester this summer.
Wade, who has 82 Premiership tries to his name from his seven-year spell at Wasps, is hungry to add to his tally as he hunts down Chris Ashton, who leads the way with 101.
Speaking to TNT Sports ahead of his second appearance for George Skivington’s side, Wade said that his proximity to the all-time record had played on his mind for the duration of his absence.
“I always had it in the back of my mind, but when I started to play with the idea of coming back, I saw Ashton still hadn’t broken the record,” Wade explained.
“I was like, ‘guys, what’s going on’? I’ve been away for six years. I’m 19 tries away from the record.
“The most I scored in a season was 17. If I’m hot from the beginning, then we’ll be like, ‘alright, cool. Let’s try and really go for it now’.”
Wade also opened up on the first approach that the NFL made for him back in 2015, which he initially agreed to in principle, before rebuffing the offer later on.
“Unbeknown to a lot of other people, I was approached by the NFL and signed a contract back in 2015, which I eventually turned down,” he revealed.
“I turned it down because my whole career, I’d been working towards the Rugby World Cup in [England]. I had high hopes of making that squad, but I was left out of the 50-man.
“That really did put a big dampener on my thoughts on [whether playing] for England was what I really wanted to push for, or was it for me to be the best athlete that I can be?
“That really changed the way I approached the game and I really started to find myself.”
He spoke of the intensity in his first couple of sessions and the “surrealness” of his first-ever touchdown in a pre-season match against the Indianapolis Colts.
“I wish it was [easy] like that,” Wade said. “I was always saying to people that the amount of work that I had to put in just to be able to make that play; you wouldn’t even believe the hours.
“I remember my first huddle was just a walk-through, and they called the players: ‘ready, break’!
“You then run straight to your spot. I knew where I was going – or I guess I thought I did – I went over there. Oh wait, no, it’s over here.
“I went this way, then back across the play. They were like, ‘you don’t know what you’re doing, get him out’.
“It’s real cut-throat. From getting it wrong, to getting the opportunity to suit up and play a game, it was a real surreal moment.”
Looking ahead to the Gallagher Premiership season, Wade believes that Gloucester’s blend of youthful exuberance and recently-added experience could be the secret to success.
“I’m really enjoying it,” he said. “We’ve got a great team of younger players who’ve got so much untapped potential.
“With myself, Tomos Williams and Gareth Anscombe coming in, together we’ll be able to get some really good results.”
Watch and stream every game of the 2024/25 Gallagher Premiership season, the 2024 Autumn Nations Series and Premiership Women’s Rugby on TNT Sports and discovery+
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