Adam Kleeberger (born 2 March 1984) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. Previously, Kleeberger had played for Canadian clubs

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...

and Bayside as well as

Rotherham Titans Rotherham Rugby Union Football Club, or Rotherham Titans is a professional rugby union team from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, currently playing in the fourth tier of the English rugby union league system, following their relegation from the Nat ...

of the

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

. In 2010 he joined Auckland in the

ITM Cup ITM may stand for: Education * ITM Global School, an English medium co-educational day school in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India * ITM Law School, one of the professional graduate schools of ITM University * ITM-IFM, Mumbai, India * Institut Tekn ...

. Kleeberger played two matches with Auckland before an injury forced him to return to Canada to join the University of Victoria of the British Columbia Premier League. Adam made his Canadian national team debut against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 2005. On July 8, 2011 it was announced that Kleeberger will represent Canada at the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

. In Canada's opening game of the 2011 Rugby World Cup against

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

, Kleeberger started at blindside flanker and played the full 80 minutes making 24 tackles along the way. Kleeberger was awarded Man of the Match honours for his efforts in the 25-20 victory. Adam Kleeberger was known for having had an epic beard during the

, which was inspired by the substantial growth of fellow Canadian, Andrew Cockell. On October 17, 2011 as part of the Shear the Beard campaign

Rick Mercer Richard Vincent "Rick" Mercer (born October 17, 1969) is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and author. He is best known for his work on the CBC Television comedy shows ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' and '' Rick Merc ...

shaved Kleeberger's beard for two causes; The

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

rebuild for New Zealand's hospitality during the tournament and

Movember Movember is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide. It is a portmanteau of the Australian-Engli ...

for

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

research. It was announced on 19 December 2011 that Kleeberger will join

London Scottish FC London Scottish Football Club is a rugby union club in England. The club is a member of both the Rugby Football Union and the Scottish Rugby Union. The club is currently playing in the RFU Championship. The club share the Athletic Ground wit ...

until the end of the 2011-12 RFU Championship season.

References

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kleeberger, Adam 1984 births Canada international rugby union players Canadian rugby union players Living people Rotherham Titans players Rugby union flankers Sportspeople from Alberta Canada international rugby sevens players World Games bronze medalists Competitors at the 2013 World Games 2007 Rugby World Cup players 2011 Rugby World Cup players