49ers’ Jarryd Hayne retires to pursue Olympics

San Francisco 49ers running back Jarryd Hayne has retired after a year in the league to pursue an opportunity in the Olympics.

There has been a recent wave of rugby talent coming from around the world to play in the NFL. One of the notable instances was last year, when rugby star Jarryd Hayne signed with the San Francisco 49ers.

The move was a big deal at the time, because Hayne showed enough knowledge and ability in the American game to make the 49ers roster. He also had that impressive moment in the preseason, when the Houston Texans tried to tackle him, but he kept running everyone over.

After a first year of learning and getting acclimated to the NFL, Hayne is calling it a career. On Sunday, Hayne and the 49ers officially announced that Hayne was retiring so that he could pursue a dream that doesn’t come to everyone.

According to the announcement, Hayne will be representing the Fiji Rugby Sevens team in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Every athlete dreams of being able to compete in the Olympics for national pride and to try and bring a medal home for their country.

While it’s another case of a member of the 49ers retiring, this is for more uplifting reasons and Hayne helped set a trend that will allow the door to be opened for other rugby players to join the league.

Life is all about chasing opportunities and Hayne isn’t letting any opportunity go by.

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