Aussie rugby star Hayne edges closer to NFL dream

Australia rugby league star Jarryd Hayne has taken a giant stride towards securing a place on the San Francisco 49ers roster after another dazzling performance in a pre-season game for the NFL giants.

The 27-year-old turned his back on rugby league last year to pursue the seemingly unlikely dream of an NFL career with the 49ers, winning a place on the team's training roster in March.

Few observers had expected Hayne to force his way onto the 49ers 53-man final roster in his first year, but after a series of impressive pre-season displays he is now looking increasingly likely to make the cut.

In his first game against the Houston Texans last week Haynes recorded a 53-yard punt return and on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, on his home debut, the Aussie speedster fared even better.

Hayne caught the eye with a 27-yard punt return before notching a 34-yard return. He then contributed another 23-yard run in the first quarter alone.

San Francisco coach Jim Tomsula was at pains to play down the buzz surrounding Hayne but admitted afterwards it would be hard to leave the rugby convert out of the final roster.

"Obviously the guy's doing really well. He's making a great case for himself absolutely," Tomsula said.

"I think that's the story in itself. You've got a guy who's never played the game and he's come out to be in the conversation of making the 53-man roster, on an NFL football team, when you've never played football. There's the story.

"That just speaks for who he is. And having the guts to leave what he knew. He walked away from all that to come and do this. That's what makes this thing special for me."

- Conversion -

Tomsula said he had been impressed at the rapid improvement Hayne had shown in being able to carve open spaces in tight areas.

"Those improvements are continuous and he's done that from the day he's got here," Tomsula said.

"But I do want to temper those things. He's on a road, he's doing things, and it is good, it really is.

"But we've still got a ways to go."

Quarterback Colin Kaepernick was also impressed.

"He's building a very strong resume for himself in a very short amount of time," he said.

Hayne, meanwhile, was satisfied with another solid showing but insisted he was taking his fledgling career one game at a time.

"I'm still a long way off where I want to be," Hayne said after Sunday's victory over the Cowboys.

"I want to be able to go into games confident that everything I do I'm comfortable with. I'm still learning.

"It's only my second game and it's all very fresh. I'm just trying to learn as much as I can every game."

Nevertheless, Hayne revealed he has always had a deep-lying confidence in his ability to make a success of his conversion to gridiron.

"I guess maybe people had a lot of doubts, people are surprised by the way I'm going," he said.

"But like I've always said, I've got confidence in my ability. I'm not over here, thinking that I 'may' be able to make it.

"I've got confidence that if I keep learning and improving I can be an NFL player."
Source: AFP