Into the scrum
A multisport winner at Lake Central and All-Big Ten in football at Purdue, Robinson makes the transition to rugby
Gelen Robinson rather would do something than do nothing.
Waiting for the next great opportunity isn’t in his DNA.
Robinson, a 2014 Lake Central graduate, was the PostTribune Football Defensive Player of the Year three times, won two state titles in wrestling, and finished first in the state in the discus and second in the shot put in 2014.
Robinson was so versatile that he played four positions on defense at Purdue. He was an All-Big Ten player in 2017.
Football always was going to be his first choice.
When Robinson didn’t get drafted by the NFL in 2018, he worked out for a few teams but opted to play in the Canadian Football League for the BC Lions. He got cut after one game.
In 2019, he latched on with the San Diego Fleet in the Alli
ance of American Football league. He played well enough to land a contract with the Dallas Renegades in the startup XFL.
It was going great for Robinson, a 6-foot-1, 295-pound defensive tackle, until the season was canceled after five games amid the coronavirus pandemic. The league had to fold.
It didn’t take long for Robinson to pivot to his next promising sports venture.
Rugby.
Robinson recently played in New Orleans in his first 15-man rugby match, finishing with 10 tackles, five dominant tackles and a “couple of good runs.”
“It was awesome,” he said. “I had a blast.”
Robinson is part of a rugby startup business in the United States.
He signed to play for a team put together by RugbyTown Crossover Academy in Glendale, Colorado. RugbyTown ran the Colorado Raptors, a team in Major League Rugby. It shut down because of the pandemic.
It’s called the Crossover Academy because every player that was recruited for the team
had no rugby experience. Robinson got an invitation after the XFL folded.
He figured now was a good time to try it. John Shoop, one of the position coaches at Purdue when Robinson was there, told him he should consider rugby because of his diverse athletic background and his ability to process new concepts quickly.
An eclectic mix of former high-level athletes arrived at RugbyTown to take a crash course in learning the sport.
Most were football players, but there is an Olympic bobsledder, a former basketball player who played professionally overseas, and some with a track background, according to Robinson.
Rugby is generally listed as one of the 10 most popular sports in the world, with a few elite players making more than $1 million per year. According to a story in the Guardian, RugbyTown players are paid $1,500 per month, are given a twobedroom apartment and are provided with three meals a day.
The idea is that a handful of the 27 players in camp will become professional rugby players.
Robinson arrived in Glendale last summer, and his most immediate goal was to get in rugby shape.
That means increasing your cardiovascular endurance. There are no substitutions in rugby. Each half is 40 minutes, and there is a 10-minute halftime.
The pace is frenetic, and it requires strength and stamina. Robinson dropped 35 pounds,
getting down to 270.
He said one of the first things that football players learn about rugby is to “keep your face out of the pile. If you do it once, odds are you aren’t going to do it again because you can really get hurt.”
Robinson’s position is called the hooker. He is part of the pileup. It’s roughly equivalent to an offensive lineman in football. His job is to hook the ball with his foot and push it out of the pile to one of the backs.
His size and speed are an advantage.
The team has another exhibition match in Los Angeles and then starts playing real matches.
The plan is to head overseas to play sometime this summer. When that happens, the team will change its name to the Colorado Raptors, Robinson said.
Robinson hasn’t ruled out a return to football. At this time, though, he’s focused only on rugby.
“If NFL teams call, I’d be foolish not to look at the opportunity,” he said. “I’m putting all my energy toward rugby now. I could see this as something I do long term. Rugby players can go until they are 35.”