Former St. Louis BattleHawks Punter, Marquette King, tweeted over the weekend his thoughts on the game with rugby union; one of the few contact sports back up and running around the world during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“If I played rugby I would dominate it easily,” King wrote.
King played six seasons in the NFL between 2012 and 2018, playing five seasons for the Oakland Raiders as well as one year at the Denver Broncos. In that time, his career highlight came in 2014 when he led the NFL in punting yards. He was also named in the second-team All Pro in 2016.
King also earned the punting yards leader title this year in the XFL with the St Louis BattleHawks, but is now a free agent once again with the XFL going bankrupt in April.
King’s tweet sparked plenty of responses with some former All Blacks and the New Zealand team’s official account offering some cheeky comments as well.
The All Blacks’ Twitter account told King, “you’re welcome to join us for training anytime”.
You’re welcome to join us for training anytime. https://t.co/QanJhkhV8z
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) June 20, 2020
King later responded that he enjoyed the passionate responses from rugby fans. “I’ve gotta admit. The love that people have for rugby internationally is deep. I love the passion y’all got.”