It appears that Ian Madigan is taking the rugby quarterback comparison of the role of an outhalf very seriously. NFL quarterbacks are known for their playmaking ability, but the multitude of plays that an NFL offense contains means that most have taken to wearing wristbands with playcalls written on them, much like New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady below:
But, the idea of having plays on an outhalves' wrists has yet to be popularised in rugby. That is, until now. An eagle eyed viewer of Ireland's match against Georgia has revealed that Ian Madigan is the first to be noticed for taking comparison of a rugby quarterback to this extreme. If you look at the white strapping on his wrist below, you can see the tell-tale signs of black scribbling we can only assume are play calls.
A look back at previous games suggest that this isn't the first time that Madigan has used this, and it isn't just for Ireland, this is him for Leinster this season:
And for Ireland last year against Australia:
Although it appears that he started doing this as a New Year's resolution last year, given that against Clermont in December 2012 was the last sighting of no white on his wriststraps:
Madigan is not the only outhalf to write things on his wristband, as New Zealand's Aaron Cruden showed in Dublin last year.
It's certainly interesting to see aspects of the two similar sports being shared, and maybe certain things that work well in one sport can help improve and innovate the other.
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Picture credit: Sportsfile
