Canada's Adam Zaruba, left, fights off Australia's Stephan van der Walt during the Canada Sevens tournament in Vancouver on March 12, 2016.Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press
When Adam Zaruba soared into the air and pulled down the ball with one hand from a Canadian restart without breaking stride this season at the Paris Sevens, Canada coach Liam Middleton applauded but was not that surprised at the remarkable solo try.
"When it happened, I thought it was pretty impressive, but I've kind of seen him do similar things," Middleton said. "So for me, it wasn't like 'Wow that was unbelievable.' I kind of thought 'Well, that's what he's able to do.'
"I was just staggered at how much publicity it got around the world. And I think it's great. It's great for him as a player because he's not that well-known but he is a pretty unique athlete. I was pretty chuffed for him."
Fox Sports in Australia called it "one of the most remarkable catches in sevens history." Sky Sports described it as "stunning." Wales Online asked "Is this the greatest piece of skill ever seen on the rugby field?"
Zaruba, a 25-year-old from North Vancouver, and his Canadian teammates will be looking to turn heads in Monaco on the weekend at an Olympic last-ditch qualifier. They are up against fellow World Series competitors Samoa and Russia along with 13 other teams for the final Olympic rugby sevens berth.
His teammates, thanks to Jordan Wilson-Ross, call the 6-foot-5, 265-pounder "the Freak" – or Zoobs if they're feeling charitable.
"Physically, I'm a bit of an anomaly," Zaruba explained. "You don't really have big guys playing sevens."
A former football receiver and tight end, he is a big man who can move fast. Zaruba's toolbox includes running over an opponent.
"I feel very comfortable in that position because I feel more often than not I win the physical battle," he said.
He also likes to draw in defenders to offload the ball to a teammate and create mismatches.
Given that the Canadian team flies coach to such faraway stops as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong and Singapore – Dubai is the only tournament that offers an upgrade thanks to its Emirates airline sponsor – the supersized Zaruba is usually a tight fit on a plane.
Not that he's complaining.
"I try to get an aisle seat whenever I check in … The longer flights when we're sitting there from nine to 12 hours can be a little much," he said. "But you get up and you stretch and you walk around. You just make the best of it. It's a free flight to somewhere awesome in the world that we get to go explore. So you just take what's put in front of you and make the best of it. And you get used to it."
"Most of the boys don't like sitting next to me," he said with a giggle. "There's just no elbow room."
As for his spectacular play in Paris, where he beat a high-flying Welshman for the ball, Zaruba is just as surprised at the attention it has garnered.
"Honestly I did not expect it to blow up kind of the way it did," he said. "I make one-handed catches here and there. I've never practised that particular play, it just kind of happened."
Big hands help. So does great athletic ability.
"It was a really cool moment for me, I guess, just being able to do something like that and have people all over the world kind of watch it and comment on it, just bring some more attention to Canadian rugby."
"It was fun," he said, adding with a laugh, "I don't know whether I'll be able to do it again."
Said Canadian veteran Phil Mack: "It was a pretty unbelievable play. Zoobs offers a lot of X-factor. We're just hoping we can do some more of that sort of stuff."