Some famous names have excelled traversing the sporting stratosphere and while Ian Overton may not be as recognisable as Deion Sanders or Sonny Bill Williams, he too boasts that rare ability to be annoyingly good at most things.
In the last two years the Welshman has played both rugby league and sevens for the UAE, and is eyeing a place in national team coach Apollo Perelini’s 15s squad for the upcoming Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) series.
Having also played basketball for Wales in his youth, Overton is a true crossover, like Sanders, who played in two Super Bowls and the World Series, and Williams, who has played all codes for New Zealand as well as packing a punch during a brief heavyweight boxing career.
“I’m a bit like Sonny Bill. He’s got all three,” joked Overton.
From Cowbridge in south Wales, Overton moved to the UAE in 2012, becoming a PE teacher at Brighton College, Al Ain.
He was a member of back-to-back treble winning Jebel Ali Dragons sides, and was selected for the UAE rugby league team to play Pakistan in May 2014 before earning a call-up for the Asia Rugby Sevens Series last August. Although rugby was always in his blood, it was basketball in which he first rose to prominence.
“I was always better at basketball than rugby,” said the 31-year-old. “Our school rivals had a coach called ‘Downtown’ Andy Brown, who played professionally for Great Britain and in the United States.
“He took me under his wing and moulded me into a pretty tidy player, then I played for Wales and Great Britain, and it grew from there.”
Hoop star: Overton for Wales U-16s.
So prodigious a talent was Overton, he earned a basketball scholarship in 2003 to Virginia Tech, which has produced the likes of Dell Curry, the Charlotte Hornets’ all-time leading scorer and father of Golden State superstar, Steph.
His stateside stint came to an end and he returned home, where he went on to play both basketball and rugby for Loughborough University.
As a multi-skilled sportsman, he is in good company with UAE rugby performance manager Perelini, who represented Samoa at World Cups in rugby league and union.
After his international exploits, Overton returns to domestic action with Dragons this weekend, but he is already looking to the end of the season and hopefully making his international bow in a fourth discipline at the ARC.
“Hopefully Apollo likes what he’s seen from me in training and the games and I get the nod,” added the Dragons winger.
“I think we’ll have a really good team. The pack will be massive and (Abu Dhabi Quins player) Ben Bolger, a great mate of mine, is eligible now, so there’s some tidy players. It’s great and I’m excited for the 15s.”
