A former Sunderland academy player has just joined Leeds Rhinos.
The rugby league giants have confirmed that Kieran Hudson has joined the club after missing the whole of the previous campaign with an Achilles injury.
Born in Sunderland, Hudson previously began his childhood as a goalkeeper for the Black Cats and would have hoped to one day play for the senior team.
However, that didn’t work out and the youngster moved onto rugby. After enjoying spells with Newcastle Thunder and Whitehaven, the 23-year-old has now linked up with the Leeds Rhinos as a prop.
It comes as no surprise that Hudson swapped football for rugby though, with the Sunderland fan looking to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps in Yorkshire – his grandfather being Leeds Rhinos legend John Holmes.
Speaking after his arrival in Leeds, Hudson said: “I am excited to be at the Rhinos, the club is a big part of my family and it is great to have finally signed. John Holmes was my grandad.
“Growing up in Sunderland we probably never really appreciated how massive John had been here at Leeds, but we always knew about it in the background.
“I always remember asking him about whether he would take us to a game and he always joked that he couldn’t go because he would be too tempted to pull his boots on again.”
Footballers that swapped sports
While Kieran Hudson’s career in football clearly didn’t work out, he will be eager to be much more successful in his preferred sport.
The former goalie is far from the first footballer to decide to change sports, while there are some even more surprising names that ended up plying their trade elsewhere after their retirement.
Eric Cantona was one footballing superstar that took up a new sport following their retirement, with the former Manchester United man going onto play for the France national beach soccer side.
Petr Cech’s move into ice hockey in 2019 was well documented, with the 41-year-old now playing for Oxford City Stars as a goaltender.
Shane Long played hurling for his county side before taking up football, while Paolo Maldini featured in professional tennis tournament, the Aspria Tennis Cup, in 2017.