Hayden Smith

Hayden Smith (born 10 April 1985) is an Australian retired professional rugby union player who played for Saracens FC and the United States national rugby union team. Smith also spent two years playing professional American football as a tight end for the New York Jets of the National Football League.

For the English cricketer, see Haydon Smith. For the Australian bobsledder, see Hayden Smith (bobsleigh).

Hayden Smith
Date of birth (1985-04-10) 10 April 1985
Place of birthPenrith, Australia
Height1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight120 kg (18 st 13 lb; 265 lb)[1]
SchoolBlue Mountains Grammar School
UniversityMSU Denver
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock/Second Row
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2008
2016		 Denver Barbarians
Esher RFC		 ()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2008–12, 2014–16 Saracens 66 (5)
Correct as of 30 December 2020
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2008–2015 United States 29 (0)
Correct as of 30 December 2020
Football career
No. 82
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1985-04-10) 10 April 1985
Penrith, NSW, Australia
Height:6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight:255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school:Blue Mountains Grammar School (Wentworth Falls, New South Wales, Australia)
College:Metro State
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:1
Receiving Yards:16
Receiving TDs:0
Player stats at NFL.com

Early life

Smith grew up in the town of Bullaburra in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney. He graduated from Blue Mountains Grammar School in 2002. As a teenager, he trained with the Sydney Kings NBL basketball team.

Smith won a scholarship to play and study in the United States. He went on to study Finance at the New York Institute of Technology. He transferred to the Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado where he played power forward on the basketball team. Smith intended to return to Australia and play professionally for the Kings, but the team went bankrupt.[2]

As Smith completed his degree at Metro State, and basketball season had ended, he began playing rugby union on weekends to stay fit.

Rugby union (2008–2011)

Smith resumed playing rugby competitively in 2008. Within weeks of starting, he played for the All-American Team and following his graduation, had started to play with the Denver Barbarians. Soon after joining the Barbarians, he was named 2008 Rugby All-American.[3]

Smith joined the professional English side Saracens FC in the 2008/09 season on an academy contract. He made his academy debut against Newcastle Falcons in the 2008/09 season. His performances for the academy team Saracens Storm quickly saw him elevated to the first-team squad. Smith impressed to earn a first-team contract for the following seasons in which he went on to play a total of 43 matches in both the English Premiership and the Heineken Cup.

In international rugby, Smith was a regular with the US national team, for which he qualified on residency grounds. He made his test debut on 8 November 2008 against Uruguay. Smith helped his country qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup during which he started all 4 group stage matches for the United States.[4] After the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Smith took a hiatus from rugby.

NFL career (2012–2013)

Smith was looking at the possibility of playing American football in the National Football League and had a workout with the New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and the New Orleans Saints.[5]

The New York Jets signed Smith on 3 April 2012.[6] He was waived on 31 August 2012.[7] A day later, he was signed to the Jets' practice squad.[8] On 27 October 2012, he was promoted to the active roster from the practice squad.[9] He caught his first and only NFL pass on 23 December 2012.[10] He was released on 26 August 2013.[11]

Return to rugby (2013–2016)

On 9 December 2013, it was announced that Hayden had re-signed for Saracens on a long-term deal. In January 2014, Smith played his first professional rugby match for Saracens since returning from the NFL.[12] Smith started for Saracens in the 2014–15 Anglo-Welsh Cup Final helping them claim a victory at the death, 23–20 over Exeter Chiefs.[13]

Smith resumed playing for the United States in March 2014 in the qualifying matches for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. He also played for the US in the June 2014 Pacific Nations Cup.

At the end of the 2015-16 season Smith left Saracens to join Esher of National League 1.[14]

References
  1. "Aviva Premiership Rugby – Saracens". web page. Premier Rugby. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  2. "Aussie Hayden Smith goes from basketballer to rugby international", Daily Telegraph, Iain Payten, 23 September 2011.
  3. "Barbarians' Hayden Smith Named to 2008 All-American Team". Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  4. "First Team Squad / Saracens". www.saracens.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2009.
  5. "Tight end guru sees big things ahead for Hayden Smith". National Football Post. 20 March 2012.
  6. Cimini, Rich (3 April 2012). "Rugby star Hayden Smith joins Jets". ESPN New York. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  7. Lange, Randy (31 August 2012). "Final 7 Cuts Announced, Roster's Now at 53". New York Jets. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  8. Jets Media Relations Department (1 September 2012). "Jets Announce Roster, Practice Squad Moves". New York Jets. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  9. Jets Media Relations Department (27 October 2012). "Hayden Smith Promoted to the Active Roster". New York Jets. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  10. ESPN (23 December 2012). "Box Score, ESPN, Dec 23,2012". ESPN.
  11. Cimini, Rich (27 August 2013). "Geno Smith could sit for preseason finale". ESPN New York. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  12. "Eagles Abroad: Weekend Review". Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  13. "LV= Anglo-Welsh Cup". espnscrum. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  14. "Hayden Smith Joining Esher". TIAR. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
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