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'Beardo' Kleeberger is ready for razor

Thursday 15 September 2011, 9:50PM

By Rugby World Cup 2011

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Adam Kleeberger is still planning to part company with that bushy beard
Adam Kleeberger is still planning to part company with that bushy beard Credit: Rugby World Cup 2011

WHANGAREI

It may not be what Canada supporters want to hear, but Adam Kleeberger still plans to shave off his beard after Rugby World Cup 2011.

Kleeberger and Canada's two other "beardos", Hubert Buydens and Jebb Sinclair, have been gathering attention for the past month and the flanker's voluminous facial fur attained cult status after Canada's comeback win over Tonga on Wednesday.

Suddenly he was trending on social networking site Twitter via the hashtag #kleebergersbeard and headlines such as "Fear the beard" and "Kleeberger helps his country win by a hair" appeared in mainstream media.

The bush also received plenty of attention from Canadian TV commentators, who pulled out lines such as "Kleeberger is 27 but his beard looks a bit older."

After such attention it was no surprise that a display of ferocious tackling and attacking running in the Canucks' 25-20 triumph led to him being voted him man of the match by fans.

But the next day Kleeberger insisted he had not changed his mind about his post-RWC date with a razor.

New-found celebrity

"It would be pretty hard for me not to shave it off. I kind of miss having my face," he said.

"But right now I'm just focusing on this Rugby World Cup and I'll think about that afterwards."

Kleeberger turned out for English Championship club Rotherham Titans in the 2009-10 season and made two appearances for Auckland's ITM Cup side last year before he injured a shoulder. It was while recovering from surgery that he started growing the beard. Now back in his homeland playing for University of Victoria, he is hoping his new-found celebrity could help propel him back into the game's professional ranks.

"If it does then that's great," he said. "I didn't really have a reason for growing the beard when I started and it's now got more attention than I ever thought possible.

"So if that comes (a contract), hopefully it's based on the way I'm playing as well. But it would be nice."

And as for the question that has been posted numerous times by admirers on Twitter, is he going to tweet?

"I just don't know if I have that much to say," said Kleeberger. "But all the guys have been putting some pressure on me, so we'll see."