Jarryd Hayne retires from NFL to join Fiji sevens team

Former Australian rugby league player Jarryd Hayne has announced his decision to retire from the National Football League (NFL) after he was offered a place to represent the Fiji sevens team at the Rio Olympics.

Hayne made his debut in the National Rugby League (NRL) representing Parramatta Eels at the age of 18 in 2006 and went on to play 176 games while scoring 419 points in eight years.

It was in 2007, the 28-year-old had an opportunity to represent Australia and was a part of 12 games scoring 44 points in it.

In the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, Hayne also represented Fiji on the ground of it being his father's native and scored 12 points from four games.

Aftrer representing Australia in various World Cups which includes 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2013, Hayne made a switch to NFL from NRL representing the San Francisco 49ers in 2015.

Hayne stated that it was his dream to be part of the Olympics that prompted him to switch to rugby union.

"I am retiring from the NFL because the Fiji Rugby Sevens team reached out to me about the opportunity to join the team for the upcoming Olympics and I simply could not pass that chance up," Hayne said in a statement.

"The Olympics has been something I have admired since I was a little boy and it is an opportunity I feel very similar to me joining the NFL."