Young Yank Makes Good in League

[DaBulls]

Young Yank Makes Good in League, and Maybe Union

Tuesday Sep 30, 2008 in Elite Level Rugby Overseas Pros

September 30, 2008 - The USA may have a crossover rugby prospect in a teenager who plays rugby league in the North of England.

Taylor Welch is a winger for Warrington and made his first-team debut during August after a stint with the Warrington academy.

Welch moved to England from Dallas with his father five years ago, and attended Lymm High School. He showed aptitude for rugby league, and was drafted into the Warrington academy, where he has impressed, becoming a regular try-scorer for the Warrington reserves in the second-grade league.

He is believed to be the first American ever to play for Warrington in the Super League.

“It was amazing,” Welch told the local press. “To be on the field with players like Matt King and Jon Clarke was just an amazing experience. The coach called me in on Saturday morning and just told me he thought I had been training well and they were going to put me in. I’ve been on the field for the reserves playing games hard. I’ve made some very good plays and played some good games. But I was looking longer term to be honest. I was thinking maybe the end of next year, so it’s an amazing feeling.”

At 18 Welch has youth on his side and he has already stood up to some powerful players in professional rugby – albeit rugby league.

He didn’t give himself high marks after his one Warrington run-out, but with the USA 7s coach already testing another league teenager – Shalom Suniula – you wonder if he’s shown enough to at least get a look.

Born in Dallas, Welch played Gridiron until he was 13. His mother passed away and his father moved to England where he married an Englsh women. In school Welch played union before being recruited for league, so at 18 he has run the football gamut.

“Rugby league is great,” he told local press. “It’s faster and harder and the athletes are much tougher than American football players. I’m the first American in Super League. It’s a bit of history. I’m very proud of that. I’m proud to be American.”

 

[roopy]

good to see, but a sh*t article.
Why would a professional RL player be keen to play mickey mouse amatuer Union??

 

[Calixte]

No doubt written by another "proud" "2 coder"...

 

[jim_57]

He's proud to be an American and the only american player in SL. Didn't he turn down the Tomahawks?

 

[International RL]

'A Cross Over Prospect'

f**k off Union.

I'm sure he is very keen to 'try his hand' at 7's...when has a first grade career in the SL to look forward to! Well written piece this...

 

[BatiFan]

If he did turn the chance to play for the Tomahawks last year who could really blame him. He would have been 17 years old and playing against a star studded Samoan team probably wasnt ever going to be a very smart career move. I would presume sanity prevailed. However, it would be great for the AMNRL to make and keep contact with Welch for future matches and to utilise him as somewhat of an example of what can be achieved for American footballers looking towards rugby league as a legitimate career path.

 

[cumberlandsashes81]

American Union is funny... it's been there for a century or something and achieved hardly anything.

At 18 Welch has youth on his side and he has already stood up to some powerful players in professional rugby – albeit rugby league.

Patronising and ignorant.

:roll:

 

[DaBulls]

This article was on erugbynews.com an all union website. The guy who runs it, Alex Goff, is total union fan and against league. Union players in the USA are taught to hate league and they have absolutely no idea why. Those who don't play in the AMNRL and love it. Many, many players in the AMNRL play both codes and love league. It's funny because the league guy's encourage players to play union as well but the union guy's that do not play league tell players to stay away from league. (of course not all but many that I have run into). The guy who wrote this artice is a jack*** and an extremely biased journalist.

I did not hear that Taylor turned down the Tomahawks against Samoa and am pretty sure that is not true.

 

[deluded pom?]

I was always under the impression that there wasn't any of the usual baggage that the main union playing countries have with league in the USA. Obviously I was wrong. This bias must only come from the coaches who come from these countries to ply their "trade" in the States.

 

[joondalup_giant]

great story but sh*t article

 

[The Tank]

Articles on Welch from the Warrington Guardian online:

http://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk...15539.Welch_debut_on_the_cards_at_Castleford/
http://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/sport/wolves/wolvesnews/3634222.Welch_boosted_by_Lowes_praise/
http://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/sport/wolves/wolvesnews/3626664.American_dream_is_Taylor_made/

 

[Calixte]

Cheers Tank.

Better material there...

 

[BatiFan]

It is interesting to see the USA 7's team taking on league players like Tyrone Coppedge, Shalom Suniula and Nick Idbrandtsen. This shows that the union types are keeping an eye on the league circles. This is a scary thought, as RU in the USA has far more to offer in terms of international competition and potentially to play in major events such as the IRB 7's World Series, of which the USA have just been admitted to play in all 8 legs. RL cant afford to lose their best players, but at present their is not a lot on offer to intice this talented players to stay in league unfortunately. Will be interesting to see how this plays out.

 

[International RL]

I was always under the impression that there wasn't any of the usual baggage that the main union playing countries have with league in the USA. Obviously I was wrong. This bias must only come from the coaches who come from these countries to ply their "trade" in the States.

No, in my experience what DaBulls is saying is completely true.

There are guys that have no idea what rugby league even is but they just 'know' that they hate it...

It's bred into them by the established old boys. Disappointing and petty...but hey, that's union.

 

[roopy]

That guy who nearly made it into the Broncos a few years ago was also a texan who came out here to go to Uni - so i suppose that means the best American League players are all from Texas, where they don't play league.

 

[screeny]

This article was on erugbynews.com an all union website. The guy who runs it, Alex Goff, is total union fan and against league. Union players in the USA are taught to hate league and they have absolutely no idea why. Those who don't play in the AMNRL and love it. Many, many players in the AMNRL play both codes and love league. It's funny because the league guy's encourage players to play union as well but the union guy's that do not play league tell players to stay away from league. (of course not all but many that I have run into). The guy who wrote this artice is a jack*** and an extremely biased journalist.

I did not hear that Taylor turned down the Tomahawks against Samoa and am pretty sure that is not true.

Ah now, you see, that's where you're going wrong over there: stop telling players to play RU!!!

 

[DaBulls]

Ah now, you see, that's where you're going wrong over there: stop telling players to play RU!!!

haha...I understand what you are saying, however, we need to encourage the union players to come play league. The Bulls currently have about 6 players all playing first grade for a union club so when league season comes around the biased old boys etc who do not like league really can't discourage other players from joining us because we were a big part of their union success. Then they play, love it and we have them!!

 

[cumberlandsashes81]

It is interesting to see the USA 7's team taking on league players like Tyrone Coppedge, Shalom Suniula and Nick Idbrandtsen. This shows that the union types are keeping an eye on the league circles.

Reserve Grade and Jim Beam Cup players...

A century of development and they still need to poach 2nd and 3rd tier players from Australia -- union in the US is in bigger trouble than I thought.

 

[The Tank]

Cheers Tank.

Better material there...

No worries mate

 

[BatiFan]

That guy who nearly made it into the Broncos a few years ago was also a texan who came out here to go to Uni - so i suppose that means the best American League players are all from Texas, where they don't play league.

Ian Blake was his name. He was playing consistently at QLD Cup level with Toowoomba Clydesdales under now Celtic Crusaders coach John Dixon. Blake showed with little experience in the game that American athletes can compete at a decent level if they have the willingness and patience to learn the game. Someone like Akarika Dawn last year seemed to want to just play NRL and wasnt prepared to learn the game like Blake did. Blake is now working in Boston I believe, so if ever there was a team back up there I think they should try and coax him back to play. Would be worth the AMNRL to at least send him a letter if that ever happened. He would only be mid 20's now.

The other player that showed promise for the USA was Nate Smith, whom we all know quite well after his showing against Australia in the Liberty Bell game. I wonder where he is now?

That said, with guys like Welch, Blake and Smith, the USA can lay claim to being able to produce guys that can compete at high levels, but the question remains, once they get these players, how do they keep them playing?