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US Eagles lock Hayden Smith has announced his retirement from the sport. An international since 2008, the 31-year-old went on to appear in the 2011 and 2015 World Cups and win 29 caps. He has also been with Aviva Premiership club Saracens for the same length of time. While he never quite cracked the first choice lineup, he was a valuable squad member and made eight appearances in the Champions Cup (formerly Heineken Cup). In the 2015/16 season he made 12 appearances for the club, his last coming as a replacement against Worcester on May 7.
Originally from Penrith, Australia, Smith moved to the United States on a basketball scholarship at the New York Institute of Finance. He transferred to Metro State College in Denver the following year, where he was encouraged to play rugby – a sport he had only minimal experience in from his schoolboy days in Australia. After being spotted by national selectors he debuted for the Eagles just two months later against Munster in Connecticut.
Following the 2011 World Cup he opted to try his hand at American football and earned a trial with the New York Jets, a team he would spend the next 16 months with. He appeared in five games as a tight end during the 2012 season with his first and only NFL reception coming against the San Diego Chargers on December 23. After being released by the Jets, Smith returned to Saracens and ended his 2.5 year Eagles hiatus in the World Cup qualifier match against Uruguay in March 2014.
With a degree in finance, Smith will end his Premiership contract a year early to take up a permanent position as a reinsurance broker with Jardine Lloyd Thompson in London. Saracens and JLT had allowed him to work one day a week since early 2014 in preparation for his post-rugby career.
