Canadian rugby convert Pyke makes credible start to Australian Rules football career

Canadian Pyke makes credible start to AFL career

SYDNEY — Former Canadian rugby union international Mike Pyke made a credible impression Sunday in his regular-season Australian Rules football debut for the Sydney Swans.

Pyke, a 2-meter (6-foot-6), 104-kilogram (229-pound) ruckman, came into the match at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the seventh minute of the first quarter. He showed some promise on debut, including a strong tap to Brett Kirk in the ruck that led to a Michael O’Loughlin goal as the Swans dominated early before holding on for a 14.10 (94) to 11.9 (75) win over Richmond.

The 25-year-old Pyke was added to the Swans’ secondary rookie list late last year after the club saw video clips of his rugby exploits, including a long-range intercept try against New Zealand in 2007, when he sprinted 80 meters from inside his own quarter for a score that stunned the All Blacks.

Pyke, who also played in the 2007 Rugby World Cup for Canada and has 17 tests overall, played parts of three preseason cup games for the Swans. He took up Australian Rules football 10 months ago.

Sydney coach Paul Roos earlier said Pyke had adapted well to the 18-a-side code, which is a full contact, primarily kicking game played with an oval-shaped ball and on an oval field. Ruck is a position for tall players, who attempt to knock the ball to teammates when it is tossed or bounced up to restart play.

A friend and Canadian expatriate living in Melbourne thought Pyke was a natural for the AFL and contacted a player agency, which collated a highlight video to send to the Swans.

The same firm negotiated a place at the Swans for former Irish Gaelic football player Tadhg Kennelly.

There has been a series of Irishmen who have adapted from the comparable Gaelic football to make the grade in the Australian Football League — and the two countries regularly meet to contest a hybrid game in an international series — but a North American rugby convert is unprecedented.

Pyke has played professional rugby in Scotland and France. While with the Edinburgh Gunners, he worked with former Sydney Swans ruckman Michael Byrne, who was a kicking coach in Scotland.

“It’s been a while since I’ve played a first-class sports game so that’s the thing that I’m most excited about — to play in front of a good crowd, a good atmosphere and for any athlete at the highest level, that’s what they want to do,” Pyke was quoted as saying Friday on the team’s Web site.

The skills he learned playing as a back in rugby union had helped to expedite his transition between the two sports, he said.

“I don’t think extraordinary is the right word,” he said of his progress in Australian football. “When I came, I knew I had a while to go but with my background in rugby, the people in the Aussie rules community don’t appreciate the skills that the union players have. I felt like I could grasp things at a decent rate.

“Handballing (a unique method of passing by hand) is probably the most foreign movement. It’s such a bizarre sort of skill for me to get my head around and that’s still a challenge.”