One final thing
Jarryd “Hayne Plane and/or Train” stats read:
Fumbles: 1
Pass Receptions: 3 for 7 yards
Carries: 4 for 13 yards
Touchdowns: 0
So, a solid hit-out for the rookie after dropping his first touch from a punt. Good luck to him.
And goodbye for now.
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Full-time: Minnesota Vikings 3-20 San Francisco 49ers
Niners ball, still. Couple of minutes to go. Carlos Hyde again, a human battering ram. They risk using him up. He’s being bashed up like a packet of crackers. Flags? What? The crowd are making some noise, no-one knows why, not even the crowd, it’s just like a mass noise made by everyone at once, for no reason, just sporadically. Oh - that’s it! Ha. No air raid siren from 1944 London? It’s the game. The clock is counting down. And everyone’s shaking hands! Everyone’s on the field, camera people, everyone. And there’s the siren for full-time and it’s, ha, like a fog horn from the Titanic, which is how the Vikings have fared this evening. And that’s the game, people. Thanks for watching, reading, whatever it is you do in this particular fun little media. I’m Matt Cleary. Goodnight, good afternoon and good on ya. And bye for now.
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Niners ball. Second and eight. Carlos Hyde gets a first down with his 83rd run tonight. And it’s time for a break. One of the coaches calls a time-out, possibly, and they swap all the players over and decide to use one of the 9,000 move in the playbook, who could remember all that stuff? Who would want to? It would send a man mad. Stone crazy. The worst kind of crazy.
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Oop, we’re back. And the 49ers have the ball. And surely now it’s time to release the man, the enigma, the rugby playing kangaroo man, Jarryd “Hayne Plane and/or Train” Hayne. What’s the worst can happen?
Time for a break.
Bridgewater starting to throw the hamburger, now. He gains several yards for his squadron with a pass to No44, Asiata. Then he’s sacked. And now it’s second and 16. Darryl Patterson takes a catch and is jumped upon by a huge man. There are flags. It’s an illegal substitution. There will be no illegal substituting in this referee’s National Football League, no sirree Bob Hoskins. Third down. The Vikings have 12 yards to go in a down. Something. It’s fourth and eight. What do they do? They run... and get sacked. Teddy’s collared. It’s all 49ers as Aaron Lynch gives poor Teddy nightmares. Sacked. Couldn’t tell you why it’s called that. But sacked he was, Teddy, sacked like a poor employee.
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Niners kick off. The ball goes dead in the end zone. And the Vikings have to score a lot of points in not very much time. Teddy Bridgewater getting some instructions - Throw a touchdown pass, you fool! - and they’re first and 10 on the 20. He throws to No12, a huge man who looks not unlike Flash Gordon in the hit film from 1980, Flash Gordon. First down. Complete, to Kyle Rudolph, another big man who wouldn’t be laughed out of a Flash Gordon lookalike convention, if they have such a thing, you’d suggest they do.
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Field goal 49ers: Minnesota 3-20 San Francisco
Top stuff from Fabulous Phil Dawson who nails a field goal and heads off for a well earned rest. Ha. Good luck to him. Forty years old, booting the pill between two big sticks for pretty good coin, better than working.
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Niners ball. Ball loose. What? Kaepernick dropped the hut-hut ball, I think. Glanced away. So fast is this game. Second and 10, now. Give it to Carlos? Why not. He’s like John Riggins, another name from olden times. There’s Adrian Peterson on the big screen, a fine and shiny bald head, watching on as Carlos Hyde goes nearly all the way.
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Righto. Vikings ball. They have 9:30 to do something. Teddy Bridgewater has been solid without being the reincarnation of ... oh here we go, who? Joe Namath. I’m going with Joe Namath. But he’s been good Teddy. Interception! Sorry Teddy, commentator’s curse. Teddy’s flung it to Jermaine Brock, his name could be, who took the ball and jogged down field, hiding behind several blocking men. Ha. Here’s Carlos again, another first down. He’s owning this puppy. Owning it like Don Trump owns stuff made of gold.
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Top stuff from Carlos Hyde, who leapt into the people after scoring that touchdown, bit like old mate did in that “show me the money” movie. Cuba Gooding Jnr, after he was knocked out. But he’d scored the touchdown. And he leapt into the crowd and waved his legs about. Top stuff. This wasn’t exactly like that. But Carlos Hyde, No28, is the man of this Monday Night Football match fixture.
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Touchdown 49ers: Minnesota 3-17 San Francisco
Who else but King Carlos Hyde he takes a short ball from his quarterback Kaepernick and the seas of Babylon opened up because all the blocking men did their job and a top runner like Carlos was always going to run through that sort of hole. Touchdown, 49ers. Fabulous Phil Dawson knocks over the extra digit and it’s Niners 17 leading Vikings 3.
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Flags. Penalty against Niners, they’re now first and 20. Hayne Plane! No gain. Second and 20. It’s not paintball, baby. Kaepernick! Fine pass to Davis and there’s another 19 yards and they need one yard to get a down, the building block of this fine game of American football.
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Boom! That’s better Colin Kaepernick, who runs a bit then passes to No85, a huge man, who makes it first down. And here come the Niners. Hyde! Hyde! He’s a ripper, Carlos Hyde. Another 18 yards for his team to go with the 8,000 he’s made thus far, he’s my MVP, even above Jarryd “Hayne Plane” Hayne who dropped his first catch and didn’t disgrace himself with a series of one-yard scurries after that.
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Niners, now, to Mr Reliable, Carlos Hyde who bashes his way across the line of scrimmage and pseudo fighting and runs into his own bloke and keeps going. And he does it again, and that’s first down. He’s Jarryd Hayne’s room-mate. So there is that link for the island continent of Australia. Kaepernick now, flings it out of the field. Nothing on. He just hoicked it out. He’s second and 10. And Carlos Hyde is hammered. Belted. Thanks mate. Boom. Top pass, Keapernick. Thanks. Third and 14.
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Righto, where are we? The swapping of Special Teams for offensive and defensive units. You wonder why they need 53 players per team. Surely they could swap a few in and out. Anyway. Vikings kick off into the nothingness and the ball comes back to the 20 yard line, it’s a Thing.
Field goal Vikings: Minnesota 3-10 San Francisco
Bridgewater goes deeeep ... and bad, the ball lobs into the nothingness of the end zone. And the Vikings will ... punt? No, a field goal. He’s 30-odd yards out ... and it’s good. The kicker’s like a little Hobbit! A tiny little man! He’s a jockey! Ha. Top stuff, Walshy.
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Oh, no break between quarters? There is that. They just start again. And the Vikings keep the ball. And start with the same amount of yards and plays, and on the same bit of field, ie. the same amount of yards to go to make a down. Well there you go. Vikings third and six.
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Here they come the Vikings, and surely it’s time to insert the Hayne Plane. Air raid siren? It’s London in the Blitz and we go to three-quarter time with the 49ers on 10 points and the Vikings on no points. And there is 15 minutes of play (and four hours of television) to go until we find out who is going to win this Monday Night Football fixture.
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OK ... Vikings ball. Teddy “Troubled Waters” Bridgewater flings a bullet to midfield and Charles Johnson takes a catch. Plenty of yards. They’re 35 out. Teddy pots it over the top of the scrimmage line and there we go. Second and eight on the 34. And there you go, Bridgewater, runs himself and scoots up the middle to nab his team a first down, sliding into the defenders before someone hurts him.
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Second and 10 now the Vikings. Teddy B ... flings it guts, nice pass. And they pick up 12 through ... someone. A huge man. And Teddy’s rolling his team downfield through Peterson, who makes one yard. Time for a break? Yes it is. A fellow is injured. A Niners man. And we’ll go to a break.
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Righto. Here’s the Vikings and all eyes on the great man Adrian Peterson. Vikings on their 15. Teddy Bridgewater fakes to Peterson and everyone goes ‘Woah, you passed it to someone else’. And the referees said: first down, baby. First down.
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Here we go. And it is the ... Forty Niners of San Francisco, who boot the ball long and the Niners Special D-Team charge down and belt the running man ... and we’re off for another break.
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Field goal 49ers: Minnesota 0-10 San Francisco
What’s doing? Where are we? Niners at the Vikings’ 11. Third play of four. Kaepernick flings a low bullet to 81 who can’t catch it because it was bad. And the Niners will have a kick at the goal through Fabulous Phil Dawson. And there you go, 10-nil Niners. Time for a break.
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Carlos Hyde again. Can run, Carlos Hyde. He notches another five yards. Hasn’t been a break for a while. Surely we’re due. Kaepernick, sneaks ... no yards. The Niners are third and five .... 12 yards out from the honeypot. Oh, there we go. Timeout. Someone wants to explain the 8,000 moves in the play book again.
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Boom! Kaepernick pulls the trigger and smokes a bullet to ... oh, nobody. We go again, on the Vikings’ 22. And Carlos Hyde, he’s everywhere, Carlos. He scoots left and he’s over the gain line thingo. And there’s more flags. And there’s another five-yard penalty. And the Niners could end up with a touchdown just from penalties.
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Second down. Nine yards to get. They pick up five through a wide ball to McDonald, a huge man, he’s 6ft 8in, can run the hundred in 10 seconds, an impressive human. Kaepernick! He fakes. He fakes again. He runs. And makes 12 yards with a slide onto the ground. Penalty, heap of flags. D-men holding, you can’t do that if you don’t want to give up five yards. Here come the Niners.
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Boom - Kaepernick. Great long throw. A bullet. He hits 81 and the Niners are into the Viking land.
Okay. Niners ball, they lead by seven points because they scored a touchdown and the Vikings did not. QB Kaepernick has the ball and he gives it to Carlos Hyde, he’s my MVP, lot of running. Niners still with the ball, it’s their turn to have a crack. They need to go one yard which they do through that man, my man, the Hyde Man. And Jimmy Tomsula waves his hand in the air like he’s lassooing something, a steer, perhaps, or a Viking. Ha. Okay - Hayne Plane! sorry. Go son. He gets them to within one yard.
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Fourth down now after Teddy flung it wide to Peterson but the Niners D-man swamped him wide and it’s .. Hayne Plane? No. Bruce Ellington takes a fair catch, which is a rule, and everyone swaps, a whole other team comes on, and we have a break. And here we are.
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Vikings, now, on their 39 yard line ... and they make ... five yards, thereabouts ... and here’s Adrian Peterson. Top player. Peterson, a bullocking run into the meat of the Niners D-line. No room through there, Peterson. He did make one yard, however.
Bridgewater, second and many ... good long throw ... almost made it and they’re third and one. Top stuff. Peterson ... and Bridgewater scoots over the gain line and hits the deck so no-one hurts him. Oh ... has he made it? The refs bring out a giant stick thing with a circle on top, and they’re measuring the play .. and he’s got it. First down, Teddy B. Top stuff.
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Righto ... where are we? Vikings ball on their 20 and Adrian Peterson, something of a player, makes nine yards with a high-stepping run left. Fifteen minutes per quarter. They take six hours each. OK ... Sack! Yay. Teddy Bridgewater looked a few ways then was taken down by 53 ... Manzini, possibly. Good hit. And the Vikings lose many yards.
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OK, where are we. Half-time still. Is there entertainment? Do we see Madonna game one of Monday Night Football? Maybe Bjork? David Bowie?? We may never know. We do know it’s nudging 2pm in the afternoon in Sydney Town. And we’re about to kick off. And do. Vikings watch the ball sail over the end zone and the Vikings will get the ball on their 20, it’s a rule.
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Okay, half-time here in the Monday Night Football match between the 49ers and Vikings and the home team leads by seven points to nothing. Been something of a funny old game thus far. Flags have rained down upon the field like mortars. Giant men have thundered up guts. And Jarryd Hayne, the rookie running man from Parramatta Eels, a rugby league team, grassed his first touch and made the odd first-down, and didn’t stuff anything else up after Reggie Bush went off with an ankle injury.
(And for those who may be reading this play-by-play blog hoping for, well, you know, something approaching informed commentary, this is the writer’s first American football live blog and his usual diet of American football consists of watching each year’s Super Bowl. Just in case you were thinking of taking it too seriously.)
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And the Vikings get to have a shot at goal. Wow 63 yards, that’s a long way. There’s another break, however, before old mate gets to have a shot. Teams swap. I think. Special ones come on. And there’s only one linebacker ... hang on... what’s doing? The Vikings are going to run instead ... they throw to a man ... and ... is that it? That’s it. Half-time! Funny game, National Football League. It’s San Francisco 49ers 7 leading Minnesota Vikings nought. Nort. One of them.
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Vikings ball. They’re on their 20 yard line, as is legislated in the rules of the game. OK ... Vikings have a first down through a tidy pass. Cameras focused on Adrian Peterson. Good shiny head on him. The Vikings are first and 10. Bridgewater throws a fine spiral to ... a man. Brettling. Easy take on his knees, and it’s another first down. Teddy Bridgewater calls the play in a huddle. Lays down the law. Lot of pointing. And ... oh, Tomsula, how many timeouts do you need? What can you tell these people? We’re going with Play No.284? Not 193? Okay ... Vikings ball. 12 seconds to half-time ... there’s a flag. A holding one against the Niners ... five yard penalty. And auto first down. And ... Tomsula looks like he’s eaten an onion sandwich.
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Righto. Where are we? Having another break. Is it half-time yet? Do they need it? No one’s sweating. OK. Niners kick off ... and the ball sails over the endzone and into the ether. And the Vikings have the ball. And ... there’s another break. Top stuff.
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Extra-point 49ers: Minnesota 0-7 San Francisco
Phil Dawson gets the extra point and it’s Niners 7 Vikings blot. And we see the benefit of attacking with the ball without incurring many flags.
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Touchdown 49ers: Minnesota 0-6 San Francisco
Oh yes, Carlos Hyde, fine run down the right side, he rumbles his way down the right behind two blockers ... Hyde! Touchdown 49ers! Hyde spun and ran and confused everyone and we have a touchdown!
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Kaepernick goes wide. And there’s another break. Everyone has a drink. My, there are some breaks. More breaks than Alcatraz. That’s a poor analogy. There were no breaks from Alcatraz. Or was there? Sean Connery made one in that silly film with Nicolas Cage in which Sean says: ‘Yes I will look after your Humvee,’ or something. Anyway. Niners are second and six and ... get a first down with a throw to Davis in the No85.
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Righto – what’s doing, Monday Night Football game. Another break? Fair few breaks. Not exactly the Helsinki marathon in terms of aerobic exercise. But my it’s fast and physical. And the Niners have the ball a long way from where Ellington caught the ball and ran to not score a touchdown. Second and two, now. And Carlos Hyde makes the first down with a strong run to the right. Reggie Bush is off the field. Niners on their 20- yard line. Hyde again. Good hole running. And again – he’s rolling up field, killing ‘em. And the Niners are over the red line ... it was Hayne! He’s on a special team now, the running-a-few-yards and crash-into-the-other-mob team. Kaepernick goes himself next ... and there’s flags again. And the ball goes to a giant man, No88. Someone might score soon.
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Vikings ... throw to Ellison in the middle, another massive human, he grasses it. Straight at his chest. Dropped it colder than tea. The Vikings will punt. Which means ... Jarryd Hayne! He catches the punt and runs for a bit... and he’s tackled. And there are flags everywhere again. And ... the ref is explaining his actions again. And ... I dunno, think it’s the Vikings who are going to lose some yards. No – the punter gets another kick. And they’ve brushed the Hayne Plane ... So old mate gets another kick ... and Ellington goes all the way for 85 yards but there are flags on the play again... we’ll have a look, the refs are talking to each other, there are a lot of them, it’s a committee meeting, and ... first down? Who knows. Illegal block? We’re going to have another break. But I’d say: no touchdown. Exciting stuff, however.
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Righto. Someone might score soon. There’s seven minutes left in the second quarter. Teddy Bridgewater flings a pass wide by Aaron Lynch, a giant human, swamps the wide man like a giant wet blanket with arms. Third and 11 from the 36, a lot.
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Righto, where are we? OK. Vikings ball, they are on their ... 20-yard line. Long way to go. It’s still nil-all, and we’re nearly nine minutes into the second quarter. Vikings drive. McKinnon. Whacked by Bowman. Navarro Bowman. Top hit, big man. Vikings ... they run for 15 yards. First down.
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And the Niners punt ... the punt returner gets hit hard. Top stuff. And there’s a break. Timeout.
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Okay, referees are talking to us again ... and penalising the offence another five yards. Hayne Plane is on the field again, this time as a running back. He is given the ball and he .... oh yes, he makes some yards. And he’s getting a little love. And wow, he’s on the telly, doing his thing for the Eels. Ha. Oh, rugby league. He’s got the ball from a pass – he beats one! He beats ... no, that’s all. Just one. Good little run though. He made seven yards.
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OK ... what’s doing, Monday Night Football game between 49ers and Vikings at Levi’s Stadium and ... the Niners have the ball and our man Carlos Hyde scoots down the outside and notches some yards for a first down. Tricky stuff, and good running.
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The punt is a low dud and wide and weird and... goes out on the full and ... we’ll have a break as the two special teams teams go off to be replaced by others. Hayne Plane’s redemption will have to wait. Maybe they’ll give him a run in another team, the offensive one. There are several.
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Sacked! Bridgewater, plenty of water under the bridge ... or something. But our Teddy ran into his own man and Aaron Lynch smacked him. Time for the Hayne Plane?
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Boom! The Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater pulls the trigger and goes loooooong... and it’s hit the grass. The Vikings are third and 8.
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Adrian Peterson again, great run big fellah, a 17-yard run, he takes a pass and just charges up guts and carries a dozen or so Niners with him. There’s only about 10 blokes on the field. Impressive stuff.
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Vikings, at the 42 ... flags everywhere. Here comes the explanation. Good thing to do, tell everyone in the ground and watching on TV what’s going on. Five yard penalty against the Vikings. They’re first and 15.
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Righto, we’re back on. And the second quarter is started with a giant kick by the Vikings punt man. And he makes good yards. And no-one tries to catch it like Hayne Plane did, the rookie. Vikings ball. Okay. They charge up guts through Adrian Peterson, a giant rangy man without fear. First down, baby. First down.
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Righto, Niners ball, they have a crack through Hayne Plane’s roomie, Carlos “Jekkly’n” Hyde. He bashes through a few blokes, notches four yards. There’s a flag for ... something. An illegal formation. And the Vikings are penalised some yards for it. Next play. More flags. What now man? False start. And ... what is doing? And the Niners are third and 14. It’s not sustainable. And... that’s the end of the quarter. No siren? Nothing? Just that’s it. Time up. Let’s go off and breathe some.
Ha. Well. Funny game, National Football League, our Jarryd, after a golden run through the trials has some real bullets fired at him and comes up with a fumble on a wobbly punt by the Vikings punt man. Tomsula paces the line like he’s a bear in a cage and doesn’t like it. Vikings ball. They ... come up short of the line in the face of a wave of Niners D. Top D, D-men. And now we’ll have another break. Lot of breaks. No-one would get tired, this much is certain.
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And the Vikings have it. Oh my. Bad mistake. He’s gone for it. Should he have not gone for it? Let it bounce? Probably. But the Vikings have the ball, and they run the pill down the field and throw it, and the Vikings drive on down field. Oh, Hayne Plane, that was not in the script. Hopefully he is not shunned and ostracised by his team-mates, particularly with Reggie Bush heading out of Levi’s on a medicab.
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Hayne's first touch in the NFL
Righto, nil-all still in the Big One, 49ers vs Vikings. And there’s another timeout. Vikings with the ball. They make four yards. They have to get another six to make a first down, it’s the laws of the game. But Niners defence belts the running man. And then several of them head off the field. Funny game, National Football League. A sack! The Niners D-people celebrate like they’ve invented penicillin! The Vikings are deep and will punt, meaning...
Here’s the Hayne Plane! His first touch in the NFL. And... he drops it? Oh my goodness me, he drops it! His first touch is a fumble! He’s grassed it. Oh my.
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Fair catch by a Viking. Means you can catch it and don’t have to run. Seems to be a fair few rules in American football. It’s quite a long way from games at Parramatta Stadium.
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No - it’s fourth and one. Thought old mate Reggie had run over the line. The Niners line up. False start. Flags fly in. A lot of pointing. And ... the Niners are penalised five yards. And coach Jim Tomasula looks like someone’s set his car on fire. And the Niners will punt.
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Okay, what’s doing ... Reggie Bush, one of the several people keeping the Hayne Plane off the park ... he runs the allotted one yard ... and ... he’s limping off. That can’t be good for Reggie Bush.
Second and five, the Niners. They’re on the halfway. And Kaepernick runs himself. Ballsy play. And his team needs one yard to fulfil their allotment.
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Hayne Plane! He’s not on but clocked his No38 on the sideline. So there has been that. His team, meanwhile, are third and six ... Kaepernick goes backwards, fakes and runs himself! He runs and runs and goes over the line ... and he’s smashed by a Viking, boom. First down. But also the quarterback, who was belted like a pinata.
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Righto ... something of a break here in the Big Monday Night Football game between 49ers and Vikings, there was a timeout, I think. Anyway, the 49ers have the ball on their 34 yard line. Kaepernick goes backwards and flings it forwards a long way but to nobody. Good long throw. But not accurate. Second and 10.
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No-one can score. And we’re ... what? Six minutes in? No, nine minutes into the first quarter. Hayne Plane sightings: zero.
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Here’s Teddy Bridgewater, the Vikings quarterback ... he flings a big floater out to the left hand side and Charles Johnson can’t catch it high above his head because of some top D by Brock. And the Vikings can’t make the 10 yards again. And will have a shot at goal. Misses to the right.
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And the Niners will have a crack at a goal ... charged down! The ball was blocked and hit the deck, and the Vikings go 45 yards.
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Third and seven. Not far from the line ... good pressure by the Vikings and Kaepernick, the quarterback ... throws it dead.
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Third down and 12 to get. Naughty defenders cop a five-yard penalty, which helps. Flags come from everywhere like grenades. And the Niners line up again.
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OK, there’s a man down, a big Viking. And there’s a break while he’s resuscitated. And here we go again.
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First and 20, a lot. Quarterback fakes to throw, fakes again, runs over the line of scrimmage and falls onto his tummy lest anyone hurt him. You’d be teased in rugby league and penalised.
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First and 10 again ... and boom! Again - the 49ers are owning this opening stanza with a 15-yard gain from a throw down the guts. They’re only 20 out. And they’re over the gain-line again. Flag! There’s a flag! Holding, offence ... 10 yard penalty, so all that good stuff they did, they lose 10 yards. Naughty offenders. Offensive men.
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Well - roll on here, the 49ers. Easily over the ten yards they have to get with each hut-hut action. They go again, they’re 35 yards from the end zone. Boom! Quarterback pulls the trigger but it’s incomplete (ball was dropped) but there’s a flag and naughty defender cops a five-yard penalty for his team.
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Reggie Bush, No23, can run. Fast, he beats the Vikings wide and he’s run for eight yards. Top stuff, Reggie Bush.
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Okay, there’s kick-off. The ball goes long. And everyone stops playing. The ball is with the 49ers now who do their thing. Hut-hut. No28 bumps his way through the Vikings (I know!) defence and that’s a first-down, baby. Top stuff. And there’s another one. Good long pass and 49ers have another fresh 10.
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All the team captains shaking hands, there’s 14 per team. There’s not 14 per team, but there’s a lot. Just going on dusk in Santa Clara. Beautiful purple sky. Field surface looks crisp and fast. This should be good. They reckon Minnesota are favourites. The talking heads on the telly are doing their best. Huge men on the sidelines. Jim Tomsula in headphones, Mike Zimmer in headphones, they are the head coaches. It’s the Timberwolves (that’s enough of that joke now) to kick off! And we’re away.
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Greetings, the People, Matt Cleary here, I’ll be doing my best to call the Big Game - San Francisco 49ers versus Minnesota Timberwolves (or something) - live from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. And it should be good. I don’t admit to knowing a motherlode about American football but I do know there’s a third-string punt returner and/or running back playing called Jarryd “Hayne Plane and/or Train” Hayne, wearer of the most famous No38 in Australian sports history. So yes, there’s been some hype.
But that’s largely because it’s such a good story. Kid from housing commission in Sydney’s west plays preternatural rugby league, buys his mum a house, has a dream, and ends up on the 53-man roster of the San Francisco 49ers, something one million American kids can’t do. How about that? If you aren’t gripped by that story you’re dead inside.
We’re moments from kick-off, the People. They’re streaming into Levi’s Stadium. Settle in. And all aboard the Hayne Plane.
Hopefully he gets on the field.
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Before Matt takes over the controls, here’s what he wrote last week in the wake of Hayne making the 49er’s final 53-man roster.
Australians know we’re good at sport. It’s great that people are doing it internationally. But the wow-factor of Aussies trotting about on the global stage has softened over time because there are so many Australians in so many fields.
But there’s never been one like Jarryd Hayne. He’s an outlier event. Like Scotts, Shark, Nilsson and the Oprah chef, Hayne is a pioneer. But the fascination with him isn’t just because he’s an Aussie doing well in the States. It’s because he’s killing it. And he’s doing something no-one’s ever done: he’s playing what looks like rugby league in American football.
Read the full piece here.
Kick-off is in approximately five minutes. Five minutes to the dawn of a new era for Australian sport. Five minutes to the making of Jarryd Hayne. Or perhaps five minutes to just another American football game. We shall see.
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Coverage on the telly in Australia has begun for this Monday Night Football clash, and we can see that Levi’s Stadium, the hulking 76,000 capacity ground in the Santa Clara area of San Francisco, is slowly filling up. And there’s Jarryd, going through his drills in his professional manner, looking serious and focused in a very pro-athlete kind of way.
A quick word on the uniform Hayne and his team-mates will be wearing today – it’s not the classic red and gold the 49ers have worn for years, rather they’re in an all-black outfit, with flashes of red, in some kind of nod to the menace of Darth Maul. The golden helmet remains, though, and the overall effect is rather pleasing to the neutral observer.
#MON5T3R Enough said. pic.twitter.com/i0hd0rzLXi
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) September 15, 2015
Preamble
To borrow Australian spill parlance of yesterday, it is on! Having avoided being listed as “inactive”, Jarryd Hayne is in the running to make his NFL debut in tonight’s game in California, although if he does it’s unlikely he will do so in a running role – far more likely he will feature as a punt returner.
Players inactive for tonight's game. #MNF #BeatTheVikings pic.twitter.com/6WANxV4PNi
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) September 15, 2015
Yet, amid all the palpable excitement building around Australia, it should be noted that his inclusion in the team is no guarantee the Hayne Plane will take off at all tonight and he could well remain firmly stuck on the Levi’s Stadium tarmac. Lame analogies aside, that would be hugely disappointing, and not just because it would render this liveblog something of a grave misassignment of Guardian resources. Hayne’s transfer from the NRL to the NFL has been widely hailed as a fantastic achievement (even though this headline in the Herald Sun was probably a bit over-the-top) and there seems to be a feeling (in Australia, at least) that having got this far, he deserves his chance to make his mark.
Off the field, he is already beginning to make his mark. His No38 jersey was the biggest seller in the NFL’s online store last week, and yesterday a mega-bucks deal with a fancy sports gear brand was announced. And by all accounts, it’s not just in Australia where he is being talked about. All he needs to do now is score a touchdown or two. Easy.
Or not so easy, as it turns out. Granted, Hayne looked the part during those four preseason games, but excitement should again be tempered by the fact that the defences he was coming up against were not first-choice, and the games were simply practice matches. Regular season is, by all accounts, an entirely different beast. One that can eat up inexperienced Aussie upstarts, for breakfast.
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Mike will be here shortly before Matt arrives to take over with a blow-by-blow account of the former Parramatta Eel’s eagerly-anticipated debut in a 49ers uniform (which may yet not even happen). In the meantime, in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of weeks, here’s how a boy from Minto in the suburbs of Sydney made it all the way to the NFL.
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