Former NFL star Jason Kelce, brother-in-law of Taylor Swift, surprised amateur rugby players from Hackney RFC by joining a friendly match for Old Streetonians. The 38-year-old, who played 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles before retiring in 2024, was learning to play rugby as part of content for his YouTube channel and received coaching from former Harlequins player Joe Marler. During the match at Hackney Marshes in London, Kelce adapted quickly despite initial rule violations and impressed with his physicality, though he needed some guidance on tackling techniques specific to rugby.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
- Published
Amateur rugby union players from Hackney had a shock when they turned up for a training match - to see a former Super Bowl champion among the opposition.
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they → publish → opposition
Hackney RFC's players rocked up on Wednesday for a 30-minute friendly, only to find former NFL star Jason Kelce playing for local rivals Old Streetonians.
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Kelce → rock → Streetonians
Kelce - older brother of Travis, the three-time Super Bowl winning Kansas City Chiefs tight end married to global pop superstar Taylor Swift - played 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.
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Kelce → win → Eagles
The 38-year-old is now learning to play different sports for his YouTube channel, and had a rugby lesson from former Harlequins and England prop Joe Marler.
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old → learn → Harlequins
"It's a nice little story being able to say we played rugby against Taylor Swift's brother-in-law, which I'm sure he loves as a title," Hackney full-back Peter Scott joked to BBC Sport.
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Scott → say → Sport
"It's amazing that the sporting community, not even just the rugby community, can make these sorts of things happen.
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sorts → make → things
Kelce was part of Philadelphia's 2018 Super Bowl winning side and earned seven selections to the Pro Bowl - the annual NFL game featuring the league's top players - before retiring in 2024.
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Kelce → win → 2024
He was joined by former Philadelphia team-mate Beau Allen, also a member of that Eagles championship side of eight years ago, at Hackney Marshes in London this week.
'I put him on his back - then he ran through me'
Hackney prop Dave Lewis told BBC Sport it took Kelce - a former center, an offensive lineman, whose main role is to snap the ball to the quarterback and then protect him, each play - took a while to get used to rugby's rules.
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We got a message from our club captain saying our local rivals were coming down with two ex-NFL players, but we didn't know anything else about it," Lewis said.
"With the rules, he got there.
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he → get → rules
At the very start, he sort of went round the back of a ruck and picked the ball up, which he obviously was then penalised for.
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he → go → which
"I handed him off at one point and put him on his back in front of his team-mates and all of our fans as well.
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I → hand → fans
I hope they release that footage because I'll be dining out on it forever if they do.
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"He just got back up and absolutely smashed me later on when he had the ball, running through me.
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he → get → me
So, I don't think he has an ego.
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I think he's just up for the physicality of it all."
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Lewis' team-mate Scott said he thought Kelce picked the game up pretty quickly.
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Kelce → say → game
"He's a pretty intimidating figure," Scott added.
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Scott → add → ?
They were using him as a number 8, which, I think, is the perfect position for him.
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I → use → him
"There were a few intricacies, like how he was carrying the ball and where he was in the scrum, but he clearly knew what he was.
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he → be → scrum
He didn't look out of place at all.
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"In rugby you are taught to tackle at an angle, and go at people's shoulders.
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you → teach → shoulders
He was a lot more front on, like 'OK, route one, I'm just gonna go straight at anyone that came out'.
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that → go → anyone
Kelce is in England this week to commentate on Sunday's NFL overseas game between his former club Philadelphia and the Jacksonville Jaguars at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (14:30 BST).
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Kelce → commentate → Stadium
Old Street chairman Will Gillgrass said both Kelce and Allen really embraced the whole opportunity.
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Kelce → say → opportunity
"They were very good value in the pub afterwards," he said.
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he → say → pub
"We took them to one of our locals, and they put their cards behind the bar, chatting with the lads for a few hours after the game and really getting involved.
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they → take → game
"They even did our initiation, singing a song and downing a pint."
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The Hackney players also had their 15 minutes of fame after the match, with Kelce's American film crew interviewing some of them.
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crew → have → them
"They were asking how he got on, and what were the major differences to translate to an NFL audience," said Scott.
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Scott → ask → audience
"The one I picked up on was the amount of power that he was able to generate after he would get tackled.
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he → pick → that
It felt like three people would hit him and then he would go for another 20 metres.
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he → feel → metres
"American football seems to be all about short, sharp, explosive power and he had that in spades - like he was rapid, very powerful, and then would take a backseat for a little while and then come back and do it again."
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he → seem → it
The Aporia
