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LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Growing up in rugby-crazed New Zealand, Paul Lasike dreamed one day of sharing a stadium with the countrys powerhouse national team, the All Blacks.In New Zealand, man, the All Blacks -- thats the team, Lasike said. You see those guys on buses, on the television news, at the train stations -- you see their pictures everywhere. They are the idols that everyone looks up to.Lasike, 26, finally gets to fulfill his lifelong quest, albeit in roundabout fashion, when the All Blacks travel to Chicago for a match versus Ireland on Saturday.A one-time star rugby player at Brigham Young University, Lasike made the switch to American football while in college, a decision that proved wise.Lasike (pronounced luh-SEE-kay), a native of Auckland, is currently a fullback on the Chicago Bears practice squad. He recently completed a stretch on Chicagos active roster, but the team had to make room for a defensive player coming back from injury prior to the Bears Oct. 20 game.As luck would have it, the All Blacks will be in Chicago the same week the Bears have their bye. So Lasike plans to be front and center for the match at Soldier Field, the Bears home stadium.I was so pumped to find out the All Blacks were playing in Chicago, man, Lasike said. My dad is coming out [from Brisbane, Australia] for the All Blacks game. He is so excited. I got box tickets, so he and I are going there. Its going to be a blast.I brought the family over for a game last year when I was on the Bears practice squad. It was their first football game. They had no idea what was going on, but they enjoyed the American culture, like the big lights and the fireworks. Its Americas game, you know. So they enjoyed that experience.But for the Lasikes -- Paul is the ninth of 10 children in a Kiwi-Tongan household -- playing in the NFL isnt the ultimate accomplishment.My family would be more impressed if I was an All Black, Lasike said with a grin.They grew up with rugby. When I made the NFL for the first couple of weeks, I Skyped my parents, and they were like, Oh, thats great. It wasnt like they went, Wow, thats crazy. I dont think they realize how big of a deal it is. If I was an All Black, they would be blown away.Still, Lasike was no slouch on the rugby pitch. BYU rugby coach David Smyth called Lasike the hardest-working player he has ever coached. Smyth first laid eyes on Lasike after he left New Zealand to enroll as an exchange student at Highland High School, a U.S. rugby powerhouse in Salt Lake City, for his senior year.Hes a phenomenal rugby player, said Smyth, who has guided BYU to five national championships. He has natural ability and a great skill set. On top of that, hes as hard a worker as weve ever had at BYU. When you add work ethic to the natural ability and skill set he already had, that equals success.Theres no doubt in my mind he could have played professional rugby somewhere. Hes a fairly humble kid, but hes going to work and work and work. ... Trust me when I tell you that Paul is one of the nicest and most humble kids off the field, but on the field he will rip your head off if you are standing between him and what he wants.Lasikes path toward the NFL started when Jay Omer, then the BYU football strength and conditioning coach, approached Lasike in the Cougars weight room.Omer felt Lasike possessed the tools to play football, but Lasike was skeptical.I was nervous to play football at first, Lasike said. Football is like an ego sport ... so I was kind of nervous to meet the football players. It was a little scary at first. The culture is a lot different in rugby. Its a lot less hype in rugby. Its weird, man. Its a totally different type of camaraderie.Lasike used the movie Remember the Titans to explain.When we watched it growing up in New Zealand, we were like, Wow, the coaches yell at their players to get them going. I never had a rugby coach yell at me. They would just explain things. If you fumble the ball in football, its a huge deal. If you fumble the ball in rugby, its not such a big deal. Getting after players and coaching style are the big differences. And, of course, the conditioning. Im a lot heavier now than when I played rugby.When Lasike returned from serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints after his freshman year, Smyth and Omer brought him to meet Bronco Mendenhall, BYUs head coach at the time. Paul came out for the team and he was just impressive in his size and his speed, said Mendenhall, who is now head coach at Virginia. It appeared that since he was already used to carrying the football the running back position would be a good spot for him.He was a scout-team player to begin with when we were teaching him the rules. We were first, second or third in every defensive category that year, and our defensive players did not want to tackle him or hit him because he was wreaking havoc on them as he was so tough.Lasike found a role on BYUs offense in a matter of weeks.Heres the thing about Paul, Mendenhall said. Hes an amazing piano player as well. We used to have devotionals before the games, home or away, and he would play the piano beautifully by ear. He is so kind, and with that English accent, he is the absolute gentleman. But when he is on the field, he is just ferocious.Lasike ended his BYU career with 843 rushing yards in 38 games (19 starts). He went undrafted in 2015 but signed with the Arizona Cardinals before joining the Bears, where he patiently awaits his next opportunity.I never try to take how far Ive come for granted, Lasike said. I know it can be cut off at any time. I always approach every day in the NFL like it is my last, because I know how huge it is. Not many people get to be in this situation. I have friends and stuff who I grew up playing rugby with, and theyre like, Bro, I cant believe you are there and Im here. So it kind of makes me realize this is a cool deal. Fake NBA Jerseys . Giroud, who wasnt in the starting lineup for two matches after allegations about his private life and a decline in form, scored twice in the first half. Tomas Rosickys chip made it 3-0 before half time at Emirates Stadium, while defender Laurent Koscielny scored an unmarked header in the second half. NBA Jerseys 2020 . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. https://www.cheapnbajerseysjustwholesale.com/ . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. Authentic NBA Jerseys . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. Nike NBA Jerseys . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has revealed that one of the biggest challenges he faced during his tenure as captain was to convince Muttiah Muralitharan to overcome his defensive mindset as a bowler. Jayawardene made the comments on the second episode of ESPNcricinfo Talking Cricket, to be aired on SONY ESPN on Friday night. According to Jayawardene, Murali, who is the highest wicket-taker in Test history with 800 scalps, tended to be a bit stubborn about his methods and needed cajoling from captains to employ more aggressive tactics.Murali was a defensive bowler, but the thing is, they couldnt take him down because he had everything covered, Jayawardene said. But I was a different captain. I wanted to attack with Murali more, and Murali only attacked when he felt he was in control of the situation, then hell go all out on attack. But for me it was different, I wanted to use him in a different way. I wanted to create opportunities for him rather than us sitting and waiting for an opening to happen. I think Arjuna (Ranatunga) probably had the same battles with Murali, but with Arjuna, because Murali was young and he was just coming through, he probably didnt have a choice with Arjuna. But with Sanath (Jayasuriya) afterwards as well, it was quite tough for Sanath to tell Murali, lets have a bit of attacking mindset. But thats something that Ive always encouraged Murali to do, but weve always found a way to come to a middle ground.Among the other challenges Jayawardene reflected on during the course of the interview were the difficulties he faced in handling senior pros such as Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya during his time as captain.dddddddddddd Dropping Atapattu from the XI during the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, where Sri Lanka made the final, was particularly trying, Jayawardene said; he revealed how that ruptured their relationship, leading to a long period where they didnt even converse despite being team-mates.Knowing Marvan, I think he is a very honest player, he played really hard but he didnt take it in the right spirit, Jayawardene said. So, throughout the World Cup, his contribution wasnt very good as a member of the team, but we had a great campaign. No one gave us any opportunity, everyone thought well probably go out of the group stages, but we topped the group. Then, we went as a second best team in the Super Six stages before going all the way to the finals. And when we got back, obviously, Marvan played a few more Test matches before retiring. He probably didnt speak to me for a good four to five years after that, and our first conversation probably was when he was appointed as a batting coach to the national team.Watch ESPNcricinfo Talking Cricket at 9.30pm IST on Fridays, and the repeat at 12pm on Sundays, on SONY ESPN ' ' '