Minnesita Vikings and NFL player Rhett Ellison with Blues players Charles Piutau, Jerome Kaino, Keven Mealamu and Steven Luatua during a visit to the Blues training. Photo / Dean Purcell.
The Blues had a visitor at training today - NFL player Rhett Ellison, a young man with a strong link to New Zealand rugby who thinks the American game can learn valuable lessons in how to tackle without pads and helmets.
Ellison, 26, a tightend for the Minnesota Vikings and
son of Riki, a New Zealander who won two Super Bowl titles with San Francisco in the 1980s, is also related to Tom Ellison, the first All Black captain.
In New Zealand to attend a relative's wedding, Rhett, who went to primary school in Christchurch for three years before moving back to the United States, dropped in on the Blues' training at North Harbour with dad Riki, making waves with the players including Charles Piutau, a keen Seattle Seahawks fan.
Rhett, who is of a similar height and build as All Black loose forward Jerome Kaino, didn't profess to know a lot about rugby, although he did watch last year's All Blacks v USA test in Chicago on television. Asked about the concussion issues prevalent in both sports, he said: "A few teams, including the Seahawks, are actually teaching their guys rugby techniques. And you can see the difference in how their defence tackles compared to most teams.
"Obviously if you're tackling the right way you're reducing the risk of concussion, but the thing is when you wear all those pads you feel invincible so you're just throwing your body around - especially at NFL level. It's not about technique it's about letting these guys make plays however they do it. A lot of teams are taking the initiative of learning proper techniques and going back to the basics."
