NFL Heading Down Under to Find, Develop Young Prospects from Rugby

Rugby players in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific physically do everything NFL players do – and accomplish it without padding and helmets.

The NFL knows and acknowledges this. That is why it is seeking expand its international search for talent by opening an academy in Australia to develop promising rugby teenagers in the Asia-Pacific region, shaping into college and pro prospects.

AP reports the NFL Academy will open in September for student athletes aged 12 to 18, following recruitment camps taking place this summer in Australia and New Zealand, the league announced on Thursday.

Ahead of the NFL Draft, the announcement identifies bountiful talent such as Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata, a 6-foot-8 Australian who was deemed too big for rugby in his early career in his hometown Sydney.

“Football has changed my life, and opening an NFL Academy in Australia will no doubt help many more young people change theirs,” Mailata said in the league announcement.

Mailata, who came through the league’s International Player Pathway program, will be on the Gold Coast in the state of Queensland to announce the Eagles’ first-round draft pick.

“The Asia-Pacific region is rich in sporting talent, and I look forward to seeing the next generation of football players out there craft their own pathway to playing in the NFL in the years to come,” AP reports he said.

Recruiting from Australia is not new for the NFL.

Colin Scotts from Sydney is a former American football player and the first from Down Under to receive an American football scholarship in the United States and be drafted into the National Football League (NFL).

He became the second Australian to play in the NFL after Colin Ridgeway, an Australian rules football convert. Scotts rose to prominence after making his name as a champion schoolboy rugby player who represented Australia.

He was introduced to NFL through college football at the University of Hawaii and played for St Louis Cardinals, Arizona Cardinals and Houston Oilers.

For the new academy, AP reports the first recruitment camp is scheduled on June 29 at A.B. Paterson College.

A second is July 6 in Sydney followed by an Aug. 24 camp in Auckland, New Zealand.

“The NFL Academy program is a significant league initiative that is driving football development efforts globally, and successfully changing the lives of young people around the world,” said Brett Gosper, head of Europe and APAC with the NFL.

“We look forward to bringing the program to the Gold Coast, Australia, and continuing to build authentic player pathways for international talent, giving more young people from across the Asia-Pacific region the opportunity to play the game in the years ahead.”

As the NFL looks for raw talent south of the equator is also looking to build audiences elsewhere.

NFL owners voted in December to authorize the league to hold eight games internationally each season, the AP report notes.

The Green Bay Packers will play the Eagles when the NFL holds its first regular-season game in Brazil on Sept. 6.

For the 2024 season, the NFL will also have three games in London along with one in Germany. And Spain is on tap in 2025 for its first game, to be played at Real Madrid’s newly renovated Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

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