49ers beat: Hayne has history with Seahawks; Boldin practicing

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Thirteen months ago, before he announced his intentions to play in the NFL, 49ers running back Jarryd Hayne visited Seattle on a vacation and attended a Seahawks game.

During the game — an overtime win over the Broncos — the score of the 49ers’ game against the Cardinals was announced (Arizona won 23-14) and the crowd erupted. And Hayne began to understand the magnitude of the Seahawks-49ers rivalry.

“When the score came across the stadium, the cheers were evident and the 49ers were getting beat,” Hayne said. “That was something that really caught my attention. It was like ‘Wow. It’s big.’”

On Thursday, Hayne will get an up-close view of one of the NFL’s fiercest rivalries when the Seahawks visit Levi’s Stadium. As it turns out, Hayne was almost on the other side: He visited the Seahawks in December, and head coach Pete Carroll had plans for the former Australian rugby league player.

“We thought he really could be a highlighted player,” Carroll said Tuesday on a conference call. “And we had a lot of thoughts about how we were going to use him.”

Instead, Hayne signed with the 49ers in March. He’s averaged 9.5 yards on five punt returns and has rushed for 25 yards on eight carries.

“I thought it was an exciting prospect to get him in here,” Carroll said. “And we tried to. We talked to him about it, visited with him and all that. It’s really cool to see that he’s playing, and he’s contributing and he’s a factor in the games. He’s done some really good stuff.”

Of course, Hayne also has done some less-than-stellar stuff. In the season opener, he muffed a punt the Vikings recovered. In Sunday’s 25-20 win over the Ravens, he fumbled on a punt return, but the 49ers recovered the loose ball.

Jarryd Hayne. Jarryd Hayne. Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close 49ers beat: Hayne has history with Seahawks; Boldin practicing 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Hayne played nine offensive snaps Sunday, but did not have a carry or catch a pass. He was asked if he was frustrated by his relatively minor offensive role.

“For me, it’s about going out there and learning,” he said. “And being grateful for the opportunity to be out there to get those opportunities and learn the game. You’ve got to remember, it’s my (sixth) game, so it’s still the learning process. Every week I feel more and more comfortable out there.”

Injury report: Wide receiver Anquan Boldin (hamstring) was limited in practice after he was sidelined for the final seven-play series of Sunday’s game. On his last play against the Ravens, Boldin pulled up suddenly as he chased safety Will Hill, who caught Colin Kaepernick’s attempted two-point conversion pass.

Running back Reggie Bush (calf) and wide receiver Bruce Ellington (ankle) were both full participants in practice after they didn’t play Sunday. Running back Carlos Hyde (foot) didn’t participate in stretching and warmed up on an exercise bike in the weight room. He joined the team for individual drills and was limited.

Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.