Former NRL star Jarryd Hayne has recovered from a rough start to his NFL debut for the San Francisco 49ers in his team's season opener.

Hayne fumbled the ball on a first quarter punt return for the 49ers, handing the ball to the Minnesota Vikings on the opening play of his NFL career.

Jarryd Hayne's NFL debut for 49ers Four runs - 13 yards

Four runs - 13 yards One pass caught - seven yards

One pass caught - seven yards One punt return - 0 yards

One punt return - 0 yards One fumble lost

But after that early error, Hayne was solid but not spectacular, finding his feet in the game as his San Francisco side took control for a 20-3 win over the Vikings.

Hayne's mistake was not an unusual one, as both sides struggled early to make plays with a string of penalties and dropped catches.

However, the game took shape after half-time as the 49ers main running back, Carlos Hyde, ran for a game-high 168 yards and two touchdowns.

Hayne was on the bench early, as wide receiver / returner Bruce Ellington took the opening kickoff.

The bulk of carries at running back for the 49ers were expected to go to Hyde and Reggie Bush.

Bush's calf injury in the first quarter opened up an opportunity for Hayne, but before he had the chance to make an impact on offence, his first touch in an NFL game let him down.

Hayne's first moment as 49er came as a returner - however it turned into a disaster as he was hit hard by the Vikings on a punt return, and he fumbled the ball giving possession back to the visitors.

His second chance to return a punt came early in the second quarter, but the swirling wind at the 49ers' stadium in Santa Clara pushed the punt out of bounds.

In the absence of Bush, San Francisco continued to stick with Hyde for the running game.

However Hayne eventually entered the game on offence and made a one-yard run.

Two plays later he caught a pass out of the backfield from quarterback Colin Kaepernick, stepped past one defender and made seven yards on the play.

Hayne returned his next punt 11 yards, but the play was called back on a penalty.

Bruce Ellington then took over for the replay of the punt - he busted open an 85-yard return for a touchdown, but the play was negated on another penalty.

Hyde makes the difference for San Francisco

In the game ... Jarryd Hayne makes yards for the San Francisco 49ers against the Minnesota Vikings after recovering from a fumble on his first touch in the NFL. ( Getty Images: Thearon W. Henderson )

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San Francisco finally opened the scoring on a 10-yard touchdown run by Hyde just before half-time, where the running back spun out of a tackle and headed cross-field to the end zone to give the 49ers a 7-0 lead at the break.

Bush was officially ruled out of the game early in the third quarter. Ellington was given the punt return duties for the 49ers, with the team down to just two running backs.

Hayne went back in, making a solid run up the middle for nine yards as the 49ers moved the ball down the field.

Later on the same drive, the 49ers kicked a field goal to take a 10-0 lead.

The Vikings hit back with a field goal early in the fourth quarter to make it 10-3, but the 49ers kept going back to Hyde, who scored his second touchdown of the game to increase the lead to 14 points.

The home side quickly backed up with an interception of Minnesota quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to get strong field position.

The Niners kicked another field goal to increase their lead to 20-3. They then clinched the win, sacking Bridgewater on fourth down to take over with three minutes left.

Niners final squad confirms Hayne's debut

Earlier this month Hayne was named in the 49ers final 53-man roster, prompting rampant speculation on whether he would be named for week one.

On Tuesday morning, the 49ers revealed their list of seven players who would miss out on the game.

These included reserve kick returner DeAndrew White and fourth-string running back Mike Davis.

This left Hayne in the 46 who would "suit up" for the Monday Night Football game - which is being nationally televised in the US - against the Vikings at the 49ers home ground in Santa Clara.

The decision by the 49ers is the culmination of Hayne's 11-month quest to make a new career in the NFL after he quit the NRL in October last year to chase his dream of a spot in the league.

In four preseason games, Hayne led the 49ers with 175 rushing yards as a running back. He also averaged 18.1 yards per punt return on nine attempts.