I am sorry, but does Jarryd Hayne expect us to take his foray into Rugby 7s seriously?

After one season of American Football (NFL), Hayne has called it quits to pursue another “life-long dream” of playing rugby for Fiji.

Publicly the San Fancisco 49ers, Hayne’s NFL club, have stated they were not going to cut him. 

Obviously the former Parramatta Eel was less confident himself as he has left his run at an Olympic berth very late.

After only seeing action in four matches last season, despite being part of a very weak 49ers outfit, Hayne announced his “retirement” last week.

Already behind Carlos Hyde, Mike Davis, DuJuan Harris, and Shaun Draughn, once the 49ers picked up another running back Kelvin Taylor in the draft, it was clear Hayne would struggle to make the 53 man squad.

His move to Rugby 7s with Fiji looks geared towards a possible stint in either the Japanese or French competitions, which can be very lucrative.

I had to laugh when it was reported that Hayne was retiring from the NFL.

Jumping ship pre-emptively is hardly a retirement, especially after only four matches which encompassed 17 carries for 52 yards at an average of 3.1 yards/per carry.

To put it in perspective, it is like an NRL forward making 17 hit-ups, a handful of tackles and then announcing his retirement.

That could be achieved after only 60 minutes of play.

I was a strong supporter of Hayne in the NFL because I thought he was serious about it.

His press release said he has left the NFL to chase his dream of winning a gold medal at the Olympics.

When asked why Fiji instead of Australia, Hayne stated it was because Fiji approached him.

I doubt Fiji would have just decided off their own bat to give Hayne a call and see if he wanted to try-out for the Olympics.

Hayne’s manager has obviously been shopping him around.

It was only a handful of months ago that Hayne was living his dream of playing NFL football.

I think I would have retained a lot more respect for him if he had come out and said he was quitting NFL because he was unlikely to play this season.

I wonder what dream he will follow if he doesn’t make the grade in Rugby 7s?

Will he retire from rugby to pursue something else?

Hayne faces a tough six weeks as he attempts to force his way into the best 7s side in the world.