Peters Does Rugby: Changing Lanes

 The transition from American Football to rugby hasn't been an easy sprint for former Chicago Bears player Peters.

The Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens proved to be a surreal experience for Leonard Peters, the USA player who five months ago had never even watched a rugby game on TV.


American Football was what kept the 27-year-old busy and the only connection he shared with rugby was through his Samoan father.

Fast forward to December, Peters returns to America with "very good memories" from his debut international rugby outing.

Speaking to XPRESS, he said: "I had no expectations of playing at all coming into it. But I got to play all the games, I scored my first try, so I'm just enjoying every­thing about rugby right now."

Peters' love affair with rugby began soon after his zing for American Football started to evaporate upon being released by NFL side Chicago Bears last year.

He said: "When I was done playing American Football, coach [Al Caravelli] called me and asked if I wanted to play rugby. He told me there's a lot of running and hitting so I said, "OK, sign me up".

Describing the transition as "very difficult", the American Samoa-born Peters said: "Besides the fact that in rugby you can pass only backwards. I think the hardest thing is the fitness. In NFL, you run for nine seconds, then you rest 30 seconds. In rugby, you run for seven minutes straight. And if you get tired in American Football, you can come out and go back in later whereas in rugby you can't."

But Peters said he hardly misses donning the pads and helmet and would like to be an ambassador for rugby to American Football players currently out of work.

"Hopefully it sparks an interest in America to make rugby popular because I think it will be better for the whole world. There are a lot of football players who aren't playing now so instead of getting a regular job, they can come play rugby and try it out," he said before revealing his appreciation of the fanatical Dubai crowd.

"There's a lot more people in terms of a crowd in the NFL where the other team's fans will tease and heckle you. But they're not as crazy as the people here, in a good way. Here everyone's cheering for you whatever team you play for. Everyone's having fun, it's like a big party outside like Halloween. I'd love to be back. I've taken a lot of pictures which I'll take home to share with everybody in America," he said.

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UH Star Peters Crosses Over to Sevens

Eight weeks ago Leonard Peters was an American Football player possibly nearing the end of his NFL career. Today he is an international rugby player with a new lease of life and fresh ambitions in sport.

Peters was born in American Samoa and knew about rugby from an early age, but only because it was how his father filled his Saturday afternoons. Peters junior was not allowed to take up the sport and was never even taught the rules. Instead, his enviable athleticism and natural ability were successfully channelled towards the NFL.

Having made a name for himself in college Football at the University of Hawaii, Peters did well to recover from a knee injury in 2005 and win contracts with the New York Jets and, most recently, the Chicago Bears in American sport's most notorious playground.

At the age of 27 his career was at something of a crossroads, though, until he was approached by the USA Sevens coach, Al Caravelli.

LISTEN TO PETERS ON TOTAL RUGBY RADIO >>

"First of all I was really grateful - for any athlete trying to cross over to any sport it is very hard, no matter which sport, but I was happy that coach Al (Caravelli) took me under his wing, taught me the sport and it's been going great for me," said Peters, who has since competed for the USA after only six weeks in the game.

"Being an athlete helped a lot because obviously I could already run, jump, catch the ball, do all of that. It was learning the rules that was hard.

Cameraderie of Sevens rugby

"I was thinking that nobody was going to help me because you're competing for a spot on the team, but my eyes were really opened by how the guys would help me, teach me how to run angles and the plays.

"I was really drawn to the cameraderie on the team, really pleased that happened and I'm 100 per cent into rugby now."

Making it into Caravelli's team in such a short space of time is no mean feat. Once the whipping boys of world Sevens, the USA have developed a steely core over the last two seasons under the Argentine-born coach.

During the most recent IRB Sevens World Series, they reached two Cup quarter finals and a first ever Cup semi final with seasoned players like Todd Clever, Chris Wyles and Takudzwa Ngwenya. Although that trio has used the exposure to secure full time contracts overseas, they leave behind a healthy legacy.

Any new player coming into the squad is expected to meet the same lofty expectations, and rigorous fitness demands.

"I don't think I was prepared for all the running in Sevens," admitted Peters. "The conditioning was the biggest part for me coming over from (American) Football.

"In Football you run around for nine seconds and then you can rest for 45 seconds, whereas in rugby they told me 'we have to play for seven minutes', and I said 'seven minutes? I can play for seven minutes..'

Peters: "I was looking to the side line begging for coach to take me off"

"After the first minute I was looking towards the side line begging for coach to take me off, I was so tired. I wasn't prepared for that, but I've got used to it now."

Having impressed enough at the training camps to make the squad, Peters' international baptism came at the recent eight-team World Games Sevens tournament in Chinese Taipei. For the first time in his career, 'World' meant the world and he found himself playing against other countries.

"That was the one thing that really got me pscyched into rugby. In the NFL you play other states in the USA, not other countries, but rugby is on a global scale.

"You basically compete against the best athletes in the world and that really opened my eyes as to how many athletes are out there.

"It was such a great experience - never in my dreams did I think I'd go to China (Chinese Taipei) to play any sport and never before had I played in an arena where the opposing team was cheered as much as the home side.

"The people in the States haven't really caught on to rugby yet, not because they don't think it's a great sport but because they don't know the rules, and I think if we get the bid to go into the Olympic Games it would send it over the edge.

"I told coach Al while we were still in Chinese Taipei that I caught the bug, I've really been drawn in."

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Caravelli Looks to Former Football Star Leonard Peters

USA 7s coach Al Caravelli is still looking for that crossover athlete to jump into his team. Many have found it isn’t easy – rugby is a mental game, too. The latest candidate has a little background to help him out – American Samoa-born, rugby trained college football hero Leonard Peters.

Peters played football at Kahuku High School and later the University of Hawaii, but during his formative years also had some rugby experience. Kahuku was coached by the legendary Livai Siuaki, who is now heavily involved in Hawaii rugby.

Peters became a star in hawaii football. According to the Honolulu Advertiser, he was labeled by 2005 Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush as one of the toughest defenders he’d ever played against.

The football safety had a stint with the New York Jets and Chicago Bears, but did not make their final NFL rosters. He is 27, 6-1, 215 pounds. After being cut by the Bears he was contacted by Andy Katoa of the Aspen 7s team. Katoa had his own NFL shot in the 1990s and asked Peters if he wanted to return to rugby. Peters was highly enthusiastic.

Suddenly Caravelli has in his pool a hard-hitting defensive player with some basic rugby knowledge and a 4.43 time in the 40-yard dash.

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