Todd Clever

Todd Stanger Clever[1] (born January 16, 1983) is a retired American rugby union player who holds shares in Austin Elite Rugby. He became the first American to play Super Rugby. At the international level, he was a member of the United States national team, served as captain, and is the most capped player in United States rugby union history.

Todd Clever
Clever at the 2010 Churchill Cup
Birth nameTodd Stanger Clever
Date of birth (1983-01-16) 16 January 1983
Place of birthPalm Springs, California, U.S.
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight213 lb (97 kg)
SchoolSanta Teresa High School
University of Nevada, Reno
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2015
2016–2018		 OMBAC RFC
Austin Huns		 ()
Correct as of January 23, 2015
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2010–2012
2012–2015
2015–2016
2018		 Suntory
NTT
Newcastle
Austin		 21
25
7
5		 (50)
(35)
(0)
(0)
Correct as of 5 April 2020
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
2006
2009–2010		 North Harbour
Golden Lions
11
(0)
Super Rugby
Years Team Apps (Points)
2009–2010 Lions 21 (15)
Correct as of February 6, 2014
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2000–2002
2003–2017		 United States U19
United States
76[1]
(80)[1]
Correct as of December 21, 2018
National sevens team(s)
Years Team Comps
2004–2009 United States 24

Early life and education

Clever was born on January 16, 1983, in Palm Springs, California.[1] He grew up in San Jose, California and attended Santa Teresa High School.[2][3][4][5] He attended college at the University of Nevada, Reno and played for the club rugby team, where he was named a three-time collegiate All-American (2002–04).[6]

Club rugby career

National Provincial Championship

Clever began his professional career in New Zealand in 2006 when he joined North Harbour in the National Provincial Championship.[4]

Super Rugby

He played with the South African Lions franchise in the 2009 Super 14. Clever is the first American player to ever play in the Super 14 and scored the first try for an American in Super 14 against the Hurricanes on March 28, 2009. Clever played for the Lions against the British & Irish Lions.

Top League

Clever joined Suntory of Japan in June 2010. In March 2012 Clever and Suntory won the Japan Top League final over Panasonic.[7] He then went on to play for the BGC APBs which won the 2012 Hong Kong 10s tournament.[8] In March 2012 Clever signed a contract with NTT Communications Shining Arcs another Top League club.[9] He confirmed that he would be leaving the Shining Arcs after the 2015 season to rejoin his former club OMBAC to compete in the 2015 Pacific Rugby Premiership.[10]

English Premiership

On September 17, 2015, Clever moved to England to join top professional club Newcastle Falcons in the Aviva Premiership for the 2015–16 season.[11] He played one season for the Falcons, earning 6 caps.

Major League Rugby

In 2016, Clever signed on as both a co-owner and player for Austin Elite Rugby,[12] an independent newly-professional club and one of the founding members of Major League Rugby, launched in 2018.[13]

Pacific Rugby Premiership

In 2017, Clever won a PRP Title with Old Mission Beach Athletic Club RFC.

Austin Huns: 2017 USA D1 Club National Championship

In May and June of 2017, Todd Clever played with the Austin Huns Rugby Football Club and assisted the Austin Huns in winning their first D1 Club National Championship with a 27 - 23 victory over the New York Athletic Club on June 3rd.

International rugby career

Youth internationals

Clever was introduced to the United States setup in July 2000 when he joined the U19 national team for their Australian tour.[14] He was named to the team for the 2002 IRB FIRA/AER Junior World Championships in February 2002, with his last appearance for the U19's coming in their loss to Spain.[15][16]

USA Eagles

Clever made his international debut against Argentina in August 2003, at the age of 20.[5][17] Clever played for the US during the 2007 Rugby World Cup, where he intercepted a pass against South Africa that led to Takudzwa Ngwenya scoring the try of the 2007 World Cup.[18][19]

Among other accolades, Clever was named the 2008 USA Rugby Men's Player of the Year by World Rugby Shop. Clever played in the 2009 Churchill Cup that saw the Eagles clinch the Bowl by beating Georgia.[20] Clever further led the Eagles to success in 2009 by beating Uruguay in a home-and-away series to clinch a berth into the 2011 Rugby World Cup.[21] Clever captained the team during the 2011 Rugby World Cup, starting three matches.

He was chosen as the North American Player of the Decade and the Ruggamatrix USA Player of the Decade for 2000–2009.[22] For many years Clever was the captain and face of the United States national team.

On July 19, 2015, one day after a loss to Samoa in the Pacific Nations Cup, USA Rugby announced that Todd Clever was released from the Eagles roster due to "multiple squad conduct violations."[23] After the Eagles finished their World Cup campaign, Clever published a letter explaining his version of the events. He claims that he had received permission to attend the ESPY awards show with Scott Lavalla as long as they were back and ready to train the following day.[3] However the schedule was altered when Clever and Lavalla had left and they both missed an early morning gym session.[3] Lavalla was dropped to the bench and Clever was dropped from the match day squad for their upcoming PNC match.[3] Following this incident Clever also missed a morning jogging session, and this prompted Tolkin to kick Clever off the team. Tolkin did not recall Clever to the World Cup squad.[3] Instead Clever spent a week training with the Barbarians F.C..[3] Originally Clever was going to retire following the 2015 World Cup, but this incident motivated Clever to continue playing professional rugby.[24]

Following poor results at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, USA Rugby parted ways with Mike Tolkin.[25] Newly appointed head coach John Mitchell reintegrated Clever with the team immediately as well as reinstating him as captain of the squad.[26][2][27] He became the most capped player in United States history on June 25, 2016, in the United States' 2016 mid-year rugby union internationals match against Russia.[5][28]

On June 21, Clever announced his international retirement and his last game was the Eagles 52–16 win over Canada which caused the United States to qualify for the 2019 Rugby World Cup as Americas 1.

USA Sevens

Clever has also played for the US national rugby sevens team. In late 2009, Clever scored what was deemed the try of the day in George. In the final match of the day for the US against Scotland, Clever leaped over an injured player and physio and glided into the try zone for a consolation try.[29]

Personal life

Clever was featured in ESPN The Magazine's 2015 The Body Issue and was the first rugby player in the edition's history.[30][31]

On August 31, 2020 he announced his engagement to Maya Stojan on various social media.[32]

Training

Over his career, Clever's training has included lower body and rotational power, foundational based lower body strength training to improve force production and attempt to lower risk of injuries, and rugby-specific Energy System Development.[33]

Awards and honors
  • U-19 National Team Member (2000–2002)
  • 3-time College All-American (2002–2004)
  • USA Eagles (7s)
  • USA Eagles (XVs)
  • Captain USA Eagles (XVs)
  • First American to play in the Super 14
  • First American to score a try in the Super 14
  • 2006 ARN Player of the Year[34]
  • 2008 USA Rugby Men's Player of the Year[35]
  • 2009 RUGBYMag.com Player of the Year[36]
  • 2009 RUGBYMag.com Overseas Performer of the Year [37]
  • North American Rugby Player of the Decade 2000–2009[38]
  • RuggaMatrix USA Player of the Decade 2000–2009[39]

International tries
Try Opposing team Venue Competition Date Result Score Ref.
1  CanadaCommonwealth Stadium, Edmonton2006 Churchill CupJune 17, 2006Lost18–33[40]
2  BarbadosBuck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara2007 Rugby World Cup QualifierJuly 1, 2006Won91–0[41]
3  CanadaSwilers Rugby Park, St. John's2007 Rugby World Cup QualifierAugust 12, 2006Lost56–7[42]
4  UruguayParque Central, Montevideo2007 Rugby World Cup QualifierSeptember 30, 2006Won42–13[43]
5  UruguayRio Tinto Stadium, SandyTest matchNovember 8, 2008Won43–9[44]
6  CanadaEllerslie Rugby Park, Edmonton2011 Rugby World Cup QualifierJuly 11, 2009Lost18–41[45]
7  UruguayCentral Broward Regional Park, Lauderhill2011 Rugby World Cup QualifierNovember 21, 2009Won27–6[46]
8
9  RussiaSixways Stadium, Worcester2011 Churchill CupJune 18, 2011Won32–25[47]
10  CanadaBMO Field, TorontoTest matchAugust 6, 2011Lost22–28[48]
11
12  CanadaDell Diamond; Round Rock2016 Americas Rugby ChampionshipFebruary 13, 2016Won30–22[49]
13
14
15 New Zealand MāoriToyota Park; BridgeviewTest matchNovember 4, 2016Lost7–54[50]
16  CanadaSwangard Stadium, Burnaby2017 Americas Rugby ChampionshipFebruary 18, 2017Won51–34[51]
17  ChileEstadio San Carlos de Apoquindo, Las Condes2017 Americas Rugby ChampionshipFebruary 25, 2017Won57–9[52]

See also

References
  1. "ESPN Scrum Rugby Union Profile". ESPN. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  2. Almond, Elliott (January 30, 2016). "San Jose's Todd Clever back with USA Rugby". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  3. Almond, Elliott (October 22, 2015). "How Todd Clever lost his place at USA Rugby". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  4. Universal Sports, Todd Clever bio, http://www.universalsports.com/rugby/athletes/athlete=267557481/bio/index.html
  5. "Ex-Cal star Vollmer, Stanford recruit Ledecky make Olympic swim team". San Jose Mercury News. June 27, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  6. "Nevada rugby player named All-America". Reno Gazette-Journal. August 1, 2004. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  7. "Clever Wins". February 27, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  8. "Clever Helps APBs to HK 10s Cup". Archived from the original on June 8, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  9. "Clever Signs with NTT". March 29, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  10. "Clever returns home to USA". TIAR. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  11. "Newcastle Falcons sign USA Eagles flanker Todd Clever". BBC Sport. September 17, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  12. "Todd Clever". USA Rugby. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  13. "Major League Rugby coming in 2018 – Americas Rugby News". www.americasrugbynews.com. February 13, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  14. "U19s: USA Rugby Men's U19 National Team to Compete in Australia". USA Rugby. July 17, 2000. Archived from the original on June 20, 2002. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  15. "U19s: World Championship Team Announced". USA Rugby. February 8, 2002. Archived from the original on April 16, 2002. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  16. "U19s: Lose Close Match to Spain". USA Rugby. March 29, 2002. Archived from the original on August 11, 2002. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  17. USA Rugby – Men's National Team – Player Profile – Todd Clever Archived June 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Web.usarugby.org. Retrieved on June 7, 2012.
  18. "YouTube". February 16, 2017. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  19. "Habana wins player of year award". BBC News. October 22, 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  20. Loading Archived June 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. American Rugby News. Retrieved on June 7, 2012.
  21. Loading Archived November 24, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. American Rugby News. Retrieved on June 7, 2012.
  22. Rugby Mag, Clever Claims Award, January 11, 2012, http://www.rugbymag.com/usa-men/3083-clever-claims-award.html Archived October 25, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  23. "Todd Clever released from USA Rugby Eagles' Pacific Nations Cup squad" (Press release). USA Rugby. July 19, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  24. "Todd Clever Speaks on Eagle Ouster". Goff Rugby Report. October 22, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  25. "Tolkin Must Re-apply To Coach Eagles, U.S.A. Rugby Opens Search". www.thisisamericanrugby.com. November 9, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  26. "Eagles' captain Todd Clever hat-trick powers USA over Canada". ESPN. February 14, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  27. "Mitchell names Clever as USA captain". Planet Rugby. February 1, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  28. Wise, Chad (June 25, 2016). "Work for It: Todd Clever and the new U.S. caps record". USA Rugby. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  29. Play of the Day: George Final day. YouTube (December 12, 2009). Retrieved on June 7, 2012.
  30. Chiari, Mike (July 5, 2015). "ESPN Body Issue 2015: Release Date, List of Athletes and More". Bleacher Report. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  31. Ain, Morty (July 6, 2015). "US rugby captain Todd Clever hands off his clothes". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  32. Todd Clever [@ToddsClever] (September 1, 2020). "I'll start by saying that I feel like the luckiest man alive!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  33. Gallop, Ryan (June 16, 2017). "The Bro Deal with Todd Clever". NAKOA Performance. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  34. Loading Archived January 23, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. American Rugby News. Retrieved on June 7, 2012.
  35. Young, Wendy (November 14, 2008). "USA Rugby Updates – Week of Nov 9, 2008". Scrum Half Connection. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  36. "2009 RUGBYMag.com Awards!". web.archive.org. February 25, 2010. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  37. Archived April 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  38. Archived May 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  40. "Churchill Cup - Edmonton, 17 June 2006, 16:30 local, 22:30 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  41. "2007 Rugby World Cup Qualifier, Americas, Round 3 Pool B - Santa Clara, 1 July 2006". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  42. "2007 Rugby World Cup Qualifier, Americas, Round 3 Pool B - St John's, 12 August 2006". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  43. "2007 Rugby World Cup Qualifier, Americas, Round 4 - Montevideo, 30 September 2006, 14:30 local, 17:30 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  44. "Uruguay Tour - Sandy, 8 November 2008, 16:00 local, 23:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  45. "2011 Rugby World Cup Qualifier, Americas, Round 2 - Edmonton, 11 July 2009, 13:30 local, 19:30 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  46. "2011 Rugby World Cup Qualifier, Americas, Round 3 - Lauderhill, 21 November 2009, 14:00 local, 19:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  47. "Churchill Cup - Worcester, 18 June 2011, 12:00 local, 11:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  48. "United States of America Tour - Toronto, 6 August 2011, 14:00 local, 21:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  49. "Americas Rugby Championship - TX, 13 February 2016, 18:00 local, 02:00 GMT +1d". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  50. "New Zealand Māori Tour - Chicago, 4 November 2016, 19:00 local, 00:00 GMT +1d". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  51. "Americas Rugby Championship - Vancouver, 18 February 2017, 17:00 local, 01:00 GMT +1d". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  52. "Americas Rugby Championship - Santiago, 25 February 2017, 15:40 local, 18:40 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
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