Mike Pyke

Not to be confused with the English football referee Mike Pike.

Mike Pyke

Date of birth	24 March 1984 (1984-03-24)
Place of birth	Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Height	200 cm (6 ft 7 in)
Weight	104 kg (16 st 5 lb)
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Fullback
Professional / senior clubs
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2004–2006 2006–2008	Edinburgh US Montauban	19	(5)
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2004–2008	Canada	20	(35)

Mike Pyke
Personal information
Full name	Mike Pyke
Date of birth	24 March 1984 (1984-03-24)
Place of birth	Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Height/Weight	200cm / 104kg
Position(s)	Ruckman
Club information
Current club	Sydney
Number	38
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2009–	Sydney	28 (5)
1 Playing statistics to end of Round 12 2011 season .

Michael Anthony Patrick Pyke (born March 24, 1984 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) is a Canadian dual-code football player.

He is best known in his homeland as a rugby union player, who played for Canada's national side and French Top 14 squad US Montauban.

Pyke is currently a professional Australian rules footballer with the Sydney Swans.

Early life

Pyke was born to parents Christine Peterson and Richard Pyke in Victoria, British Columbia

Pyke first started playing basketball, soccer and ice hockey, at St. Michaels University School in British Columbia, a school which has produced several Canadian national rugby players over the past few decades, before being convinced to focus on rugby.

As an amateur he was a member of various rugby teams based in Victoria, British Columbia, including the Pacific Sport rugby academy – where he led the B.C. Premier League with 210 points in 2003–2004, the University of Victoria, the Castaway Wanderers, and the Vancouver Island Crimson Tide.

Professional Rugby and International Representative Career

Pyke began his professional rugby career at the Edinburgh Gunners in 2004. He won his first international cap against Japan, at age 20 the same year.

In November 2006, he signed with US Montauban, where he played alongside Canadian teammate Ryan Smith.

As of August, 2007, he has 17 caps for the national side, scoring 30 points in the process.

Pyke achieved fame in 2007 for running the length of the field and scoring a try against the New Zealand All Blacks off an intercepted pass from Dan Carter.

As a rugby player, Pyke typically plays on the wing or at full back, but is also capable of playing most other back line positions.

Injuries sustained at US Montauban saw Pyke look for a career change. A friend, Matt Woodland, convinced Pyke that he had all the attributes of an AFL great and set in motion the code switch. Pyke put together a DVD showcasing his rugby highlights which Woodland then sent onto AFL player agent Michael Quinlan from Top Dog Management. Quinlan was immediately convinced of the possibilities and after speaking with Pyke several times began dialogue with the Sydney Swans, a team known for unconventional recruitment^{[citation needed]} .

Switch to Australian rules football

After viewing Pyke's credentials, the Sydney Swans offered him a contract. On 13 August 2008, Pyke signed with the club. The Swans had exploited a new draft rule initially designed to provide a pathway for amateur Australian Rules players outside of Australia to a professional AFL career. Although there were rules in place to protect the Gaelic Athletic Association and clubs using it for the Irish experiment, the new AFL draft rule did not preclude the recruitment of talented athletes from other sports such as rugby. As a result, Pyke became the first international sportsperson in VFL/AFL history drafted from a non-Irish sport.

Pyke believed his basketball and rugby background would help him adapt to Australian rules football with his 200 cm height and 105 kg weight, he saw himself playing as a ruckman and or defender. Pyke was selected by the Swans as a round 4 (57th) pick in the rookie draft and added to the team's list. In late 2008, AFL player manager Ricky Nixon (who had set up recruiting networks in Ireland), commented publicly that he thought the Swans were "wasting their time" with Pyke and that the venture would not be successful.

Pyke made an impressive debut in the NAB Cup match against the Port Adelaide Power. His performance rucking against premiership ruckmen Dean Brogan and Brendon Lade earned him early favouritism to take the secondary ruckman role, supporting premiership ruckman Darren Jolly and make his AFL premiership season debut in the Swans opening match against St Kilda.

He was elevated to the Senior List shortly before the first round, leading to speculation he would indeed be chosen, but he was announced on the emergency list for the squad, with White taking the second ruck spot. In the following rounds Pyke played for the Swans reserves side in the AFL Canberra league. After a 20 possession strong performance with the reserves including some strong contested marks and goals, the club raised the possibility that Pyke's debut would take place in the coming weeks.

Pyke finally got his opportunity with the Swans when selected to play in round 6 of the AFL premiership competition against the Richmond Tigers. In 50 minutes of game time, he accumulated 4 handballs, 1 mark, 1 tackle and 11 hit-outs. While his debut wasn't sensational, he showed enough confident passages of play to be considered as a back-up ruckman for the Swans.

By Round 14, 2010, Pyke finally managed his first senior goal – again against Richmond. .

In August 2010 Pyke was given a new 2 year contract with the Sydney Swans.

Swans coach Paul Roos praised Pyke, saying he has developed into a genuine AFL ruckman. “This year, if someone came to their first game, you'd have to point out that this is a Canadian rugby player now playing AFL football, and that's the biggest compliment you can give Pykey,’’ Roos said.

The success of Pyke's move to the AFL was further cemented at the 2010 Sydney Swans Club Champion presentation, where Pyke was awarded the "Dennis Carroll Trophy for Most Improved Player".

External links

• Mike Pyke's profile on the Official AFL Website of the Sydney Swans Football Club
• scrum.com Statistics
• European Profile at www.ercrugby.com