| Wendell Sailor |
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CAREER Rugby league Sailor as a young man chose to pursue a rugby league career, though he had the option to look into a track career because of his speed. In his inaugural year for the Brisbane Broncos , Sailor played in a handful of games, scoring three tries in his first season, though Sailor had limited involvement that year, the club won the premiership, defeating St.George 14-6. After his impressive debut season, he won the Rookie of the Year award at the Broncos club. The following season he took part in more games, scoring 14 tries. Such a rapid improvement over the course of two seasons saw Sailor become a regular in the Broncos ranks. At the end of the 1994 season he went on a Kangaroo tour of Europe , playing in the opening fixture against a Cumbria n side where he scored two tries. He then started off the bench in a warm up match against Leeds , before earning a starting wing spot in the next match against Wigan and then playing off the bench again against Castleford . Sailor was again promoted to a starting wing position for the match against Halifax , scoring two tries. He then earned his first test cap against Great Britain , as a starting wing in their loss at Wembley Stadium in late October. He quickly became a home crowd favourite in Brisbane because of his speed and power; he became a household name in the Rugby league world. Following the defection of the Brisbane Broncos to Super League , Wendell had a stellar year in the rebel competition and the Broncos won the premiership, defeating the Cronulla Sharks 26-8 in the final. That same year the Broncos won the World Club Challenge . After the Super League war ended, the Broncos won the inaugural competition of the National Rugby League , defeating the Canterbury Bulldogs 38-12 in the grand final. Sailor spent the Australian summer in England , playing union for Leeds Tykes , scoring 15 tries in 13 games; he also appeared in two of the Leeds Rhinos trial games. Two years later Sailor was again a premiership winning man, the Broncos winning the 2000 title, defeating the Sydney Roosters 14-6. That year he won the Best Back award and the Player of the Year award at the Brisbane Broncos. More success followed for Sailor in 2000 as he traveled to the Europe to compete in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup for Australia. Sailor finished as the tournament's top try scorer as well as boasting two tries in the defeat of the Kiwis in the final. He was named best player of the tournament. Following Australia's world cup victory, Kangaroo coach Chris Anderson stated that "he's up there with Eric Grothe among the best of all time. Following the World Cup, many speculated that Sailor, who was off contract with the Broncos the following year, would sign for an English club in the ESL competition, as many Rugby league stars did. Talks apparently began with leading English clubs Wigan, Leeds and Bradford . Defection to Rugby union Sailor shocked the Rugby world on February 7, 2001, when it was announced by the Australian Rugby Union that they had reached an agreement with Rugby league superstar Wendell Sailor regarding a switch to Rugby union. Sailor signed a letter of intent with the ARU in February as well as signing with the Queensland Reds . The deal was formally completed in July, with Sailor set to leave League on the first day of November. He finished his career at the Broncos with 110 tries, one goal for 442 points over 189 first grade games as well as 23 test caps for Australia. Media throughout the country were exploratory of how much money he was being given and large figures were thrown around during his switch. Reports ran wild in the media, claiming that he was getting paid over the sum of $700,000. The ARU would then calm the speculation and announce that the money offered to Sailor was not excessive and that he would not be paid more any than current leading Wallaby players. Sailor would make it clear that it is his desire to play Rugby and that the switch was not based on whatever riches may have been offered to him. Some Rugby union fans were unconvinced whether the 26 year old would be able to maintain his greatness in another code. This uncertainty was fueled when Wendell remained without a try for his first six games in the Super 12 , however in his seventh match he scored twice and narrowly missed out on a Hat-trick , pleasing those who had doubts. This same year he made his international debut against France. Sailor then released a book, Crossing Over which detailed his troubles he had in changing codes and describes the differences between the two. The following season he thrived and showed that he has made quick adaptations to his new game. In 2003 he was selected for the Wallabies to participate in the World Cup . Sailor was selected for the opening match between Australia and Argentina, where he scored the first try of the 2003 RWC in front of 81,350 at Telstra Stadium. That was the only try he scored in the whole World Cup. After the win over Argentina, Sailor retained his position on the wing and was part of the 90 - 8 thrashing of Romania. Sailor along with several other players were rested for the match against Namibia. Sailor returned to his position on the wing for wins over Ireland, Scotland and New Zealand. He was subsequently dropped from the starting line up and replaced by other league convert Lote Tuqiri for the final against England. Sailor came off contract with the Reds after the 2004 Super 12 season, media speculated that he would either move to Japan or sign with new franchise Western Force . However, he again rocked the Rugby world when he signed with Reds rivals New South Wales Waratahs to play in the 2006 season. It was a shock because Sailor had been a Queenslander his whole career and had always been playing against the sky blue jerseys of NSW . The controversial switch from the Reds to the Waratahs would come to a boiling point before the season opener between the two rivals in the new Super 14 competition. In response to a marketing campaign that was targeting him, Sailor and the Reds fired shots at each other via the media during the buildup. The Waratahs won the opening game of the 2006 season at Suncorp Stadium against Queensland. Sailor encountered considerable heckling from the Queensland crowd. Sailor was involved in a controversy in a trip to South Africa, whilst injured, he had a confrontation with a patron in a pub. He was suspended for a number of matches, but returned in round six, scoring two tries in the win over fellow Australian team, the Western Force . SEE ALSO REFERENCES |
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