Hayden Smith (born 10 April 1985) is an Australian retired professional
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 it ...
player who played for
Saracens FC
Saracens Rugby Club () are an English professional rugby union club based in North London, England. As of the current 2022–23 season, they compete in Premiership Rugby, the highest tier competition in English rugby, as well as the domestic P ...
and the
United States national rugby union team
The United States men's national rugby union team represents the United States in men's international rugby union. Nicknamed the Eagles, it is controlled by USA Rugby, the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United Sta ...
. Smith also spent two years playing professional
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
as a
tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...
for the
New York Jets of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
.
Early life
Smith grew up in the town of
Bullaburra in the
Blue Mountains outside Sydney. He graduated from
Blue Mountains Grammar School
, motto_translation = Through Effort To Higher Achievement
, established =
, type = Independent comprehensive co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day school
, denomination = Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican
...
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
Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver or Metro State) is a public university in Denver, Colorado. MSU Denver is located on the Auraria Campus, along with the University of Colorado Denver and the Community College of Denver, i ...
, 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.
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
The Denver Barbarians Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in Denver, Colorado. The Denver Barbarians have won 3 national championships dating back to their first DI title in 1990. The club's second title came in 1999, during the heigh ...
. Soon after joining the Barbarians, he was named 2008 Rugby All-American.
Smith joined the professional English side
Saracens FC
Saracens Rugby Club () are an English professional rugby union club based in North London, England. As of the current 2022–23 season, they compete in Premiership Rugby, the highest tier competition in English rugby, as well as the domestic P ...
in the 2008/09 season on an academy contract. He made his academy debut against
Newcastle Falcons
Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union.
The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...
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
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
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
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
. Smith helped his country qualify for the
2011 Rugby World Cup during which he started all 4 group stage matches for the United States. 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
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
and had a workout with the
New York Jets,
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
,
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
,
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
and the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
.
The
New York Jets signed Smith on 3 April 2012. He was waived on 31 August 2012. A day later, he was signed to the Jets' practice squad. On 27 October 2012, he was promoted to the active roster from the practice squad. He caught his first and only NFL pass on 23 December 2012. He was released on 26 August 2013.
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. 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
Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played its home m ...
.
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.
References
External links
USA Rugby bio*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Hayden
1985 births
Living people
American rugby union players
Australian rugby union players
Metro State Roadrunners men's basketball players
United States international rugby union players
American football tight ends
New York Jets players
Australian players of American football
Saracens F.C. players
Rugby union players from Sydney
Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Rugby union players that played in the NFL
Rugby union locks