CHRISTIAN WADE grew up idolising rugby legend Jason Robinson and now the former rugby union winger is hoping to follow in his footsteps at Wigan Warriors.
Wade, a former Gloucester flyer and England rugby union international, has crossed codes to sign for Wigan for the rest of the 2025 season.
The Warriors have a long history of their stars moving to union, such as Robinson, or union players crossing to play league at Wigan, like Frano Botica and Inga Tuigamala.
“Jason Robinson is someone I looked up to as an idol, so it’s exciting to be part of this organisation,” said Wade.
“To do anything close to what he could do would be awesome, but I have to learn the game first and get myself on to the field.”
Wade has yet to make his Super League debut but has appeared for Wigan in the reserves against Castleford as he continues to learn a new sport.
“It’s been awesome,” he said.
“I’ve been straight in; I finished with Gloucester two Saturdays ago and I was straight in on the Wednesday and then I was involved in the reserves game on the Thursday. But it’s better to just rip the band-aid off.
“The biggest thing is understanding the flow of the game. As a winger you’re involved in those first and second carries, so I’ve been focusing on that.
“Making sure I’m in the right position for those carries, understanding where I’m trying to carry, which defender I’m trying to get to, the tempo of my run, there’s all these small things that when you watch Super League you think guys just run into each other. But there’s a lot more to it than that.”
A noted try-scorer in rugby union, Slough-born Wade made his name for Wasps and earned international honours for England and the British & Irish Lions.
The outside back spent four years trying to crack the NFL with the Buffalo Bills, before joining Racing 92 in 2022 and then Gloucester last year.
Wade said it was Wigan who approached him about switching codes, but revealed he had received Super League offers before in 2018 as he left rugby union.
“It was an opportunity that was brought to me,” the 34-year-old said.
“It wasn’t something that I was looking at.
“In 2018 I made a huge decision to come to America and play American football and Rugby League wasn’t really in my mind.
“But seven years later Wigan came to the table and I had a conversation with Matt and Kris and expressed my vision of what I’m trying to do. There was a lot of alignment here and that’s how it came about.”