Todd Clever facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Todd Clever

Clever at the 2010 Churchill Cup
Birth name	Todd Stanger Clever
Date of birth	(1983-01-16) 16 January 1983 (age 42)
Place of birth	Palm Springs, California, U.S.
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	213 lb (97 kg)
School	Santa Teresa High School University of Nevada, Reno
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2015 OMBAC RFC () 2016–2018 Austin Huns () Correct as of January 23, 2015 Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2010–2012 Suntory 21 (50) 2012–2015 NTT 25 (35) 2015–2016 Newcastle 7 (0) 2018 Austin 5 (0) Correct as of 5 April 2020 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 US U19 () 2003–2017 United States 76 (80) Correct as of December 21, 2018

Todd Stanger Clever (born January 16, 1983) is a retired American rugby union player. He made history as the first American to play in Super Rugby, a major rugby competition. Todd was a key member and captain of the United States national team. He holds the record for the most games played for the U.S. national rugby team.

Todd Clever's Early Life and School

Todd Clever was born on January 16, 1983, in Palm Springs, California. He grew up in San Jose, California. He went to Santa Teresa High School and later to the University of Nevada, Reno. There, he played for the university's rugby club team. He was named a "collegiate All-American" three times between 2002 and 2004. This means he was recognized as one of the best college rugby players in the country.

Todd Clever's Club Rugby Journey

Todd Clever played for several professional rugby clubs around the world.

Playing in New Zealand

Todd started his professional rugby career in New Zealand in 2006. He joined a team called North Harbour in a competition known as the National Provincial Championship.

Playing in Super Rugby

In 2009, Todd played for the South African team, the Lions, in the Super 14 competition. This was a big deal because he was the first American player ever to play in the Super 14. He also scored the first "try" (like a touchdown in American football) for an American player in this league. This happened on March 28, 2009, against a team called the Hurricanes.

Playing in Japan's Top League

In June 2010, Todd joined a Japanese team called Suntory. In March 2012, his team, Suntory, won the Japan Top League final. After that, he played for another team, the BGC APBs, which won the Hong Kong 10s tournament in 2012. Later in March 2012, Todd signed with another Top League club in Japan, the NTT Communications Shining Arcs. He left the Shining Arcs after the 2015 season to play for his old club, OMBAC, in the Pacific Rugby Premiership.

Playing in England

On September 17, 2015, Todd moved to England. He joined a top professional club called Newcastle Falcons in the Aviva Premiership for the 2015–16 season. He played one season for the Falcons.

Major League Rugby and Other Clubs

In 2016, Todd Clever became a co-owner and player for Austin Elite Rugby. This was a new professional club and one of the first teams in Major League Rugby, which started in 2018. In 2017, Todd also won a championship with Old Mission Beach Athletic Club RFC in the Pacific Rugby Premiership. In May and June 2017, he helped the Austin Huns win their first D1 Club National Championship.

Todd Clever's International Rugby Career

Todd Clever also had a long and successful career playing for the United States on the international stage.

Youth National Teams

Todd first joined the United States national teams in July 2000. He played for the U19 national team during their tour in Australia. He also played for the U19 team in the 2002 IRB FIRA/AER Junior World Championships.

Playing for the USA Eagles

Todd Clever played his first international game for the senior U.S. team, known as the Eagles, in August 2003. He was just 20 years old. He played for the U.S. in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. During that tournament, he made a famous play against South Africa that led to Takudzwa Ngwenya scoring a try that was called the "try of the 2007 World Cup."

Todd was named the 2008 USA Rugby Men's Player of the Year. He also played in the 2009 Churchill Cup, where the Eagles won the Bowl by beating Georgia. In 2009, Todd led the Eagles to beat Uruguay, which helped them get a spot in the 2011 Rugby World Cup. He was the captain of the team during the 2011 World Cup.

He was recognized as the North American Player of the Decade and the Ruggamatrix USA Player of the Decade for 2000–2009. For many years, Todd Clever was the captain and a well-known face of the United States national team.

In July 2015, Todd was temporarily removed from the Eagles team. This happened because he missed some team training sessions. He later explained that he had permission to attend an awards show, but the team's schedule changed, and he missed a morning workout. This led to him being dropped from the team for a match and then from the World Cup squad. Even though he had planned to retire after the 2015 World Cup, this event made him want to keep playing professional rugby.

After the 2015 Rugby World Cup, a new coach, John Mitchell, took over. He brought Todd back to the team and made him captain again. On June 25, 2016, Todd became the player with the most games played in United States rugby history. This happened during a match against Russia.

On June 21, 2017, Todd announced he was retiring from international rugby. His last game was a 52–16 win over Canada, which helped the United States qualify for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Playing for USA Sevens

Todd Clever also played for the U.S. national rugby sevens team. This is a faster version of rugby with fewer players. In late 2009, he scored an amazing try in South Africa. He leaped over an injured player and a medical person to score.

Todd Clever's Personal Life

Todd Clever was featured in ESPN The Magazine's 2015 The Body Issue. He was the first rugby player to be in this special magazine edition. On August 31, 2020, he announced his engagement to Maya Stojan on social media.

Awards and Honors

International Tries

Todd Clever scored many tries (points) for the United States national team. Here are some of them:

Try	Opposing team	Venue	Competition	Date	Result	Score	Ref.
1	Canada	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton	2006 Churchill Cup	June 17, 2006	Lost	18–33
2	Barbados	Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara	2007 Rugby World Cup Qualifier	July 1, 2006	Won	91–0
3	Canada	Swilers Rugby Park, St. John's	2007 Rugby World Cup Qualifier	August 12, 2006	Lost	56–7
4	Uruguay	Parque Central, Montevideo	2007 Rugby World Cup Qualifier	September 30, 2006	Won	42–13
5	Uruguay	Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy	Test match	November 8, 2008	Won	43–9
6	Canada	Ellerslie Rugby Park, Edmonton	2011 Rugby World Cup Qualifier	July 11, 2009	Lost	18–41
7	Uruguay	Central Broward Regional Park, Lauderhill	2011 Rugby World Cup Qualifier	November 21, 2009	Won	27–6
8
9	Russia	Sixways Stadium, Worcester	2011 Churchill Cup	June 18, 2011	Won	32–25
10	Canada	BMO Field, Toronto	Test match	August 6, 2011	Lost	22–28
11
12	Canada	Dell Diamond; Round Rock	2016 Americas Rugby Championship	February 13, 2016	Won	30–22
13
14
15	New Zealand Māori	Toyota Park; Bridgeview	Test match	November 4, 2016	Lost	7–54
16	Canada	Swangard Stadium, Burnaby	2017 Americas Rugby Championship	February 18, 2017	Won	51–34
17	Chile	Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo, Las Condes	2017 Americas Rugby Championship	February 25, 2017	Won	57–9

See also

In Spanish: Todd Clever para niños

• United States national rugby union team
• United States national rugby sevens team