Hayne, 28, starred in rugby league with the Parramatta Eels in NRL between 2006-14 before embarking on a career-defining sporting shift to American football with the San Francisco 49ers. Hayne made the five-time Super Bowl winners’ 53-man roster for the 2015 season and was briefly starting running back.
But he quit the NFL in May this year, and played his first sevens game for Fiji – the birthplace of his father Manoa Thompson – a week later at Twickenham. He was named in Fiji’s 23-man Olympics training squad and kicking coach Manning was impressed with what he saw during his time coaching Hayne.
“His skill levels are amazing, he’s a natural athlete, a natural sportsman,” said Manning.
“Going from American football to sevens, two completely different sports, completely different training methods and techniques, and the fact he put up his hand saying he wanted to have a crack at going to the Olympics with the best side in the world is fantastic.
“He stuck at it, trained the house down and is a phenomenal athlete, his skill level is right up there, and he’s a good dude. He got on with things and knuckled down.
“Unfortunately he was just a little bit far off. If he’d had an extra six months training towards Rio it could have been a different story. It’s a shame, I really enjoyed working with him.”
Fiji will be favourites for the gold medal as rugby sevens debuts at the Olympics in Rio this weekend.
