Mike Hercus (born June 5, 1979) is an American former professional rugby union player who played at fly-half for the United States national team and several top-level professional clubs around the globe.
Hercus is the USA Eagles' all-time leading scorer with 465 points and is the leading scorer for the U.S. in Rugby World Cups with 77 points.Rugby Mag, Record Breakers – World Cup Records and Who Could Break Them, September 5, 2011, At the time of his final match, Hercus was the Eagles' all-time most capped back.
Hercus played at Sale Sharks for two seasons as Charlie Hodgson's understudy before moving to Scarlets. Hercus secured a starting position at fly-half during the season, which he maintained in the 2006 Powergen Cup final (which saw the Scarlets lose to Wasps RFC 26-10). Hercus moved to the Newport Gwent Dragons in the summer of 2006 after it was announced that Welsh international fly-half Stephen Jones was to move to the Scarlets.
Also, in 2006, Hercus was invited to play for the prestigious Barbarians FC. His Barbarians cap came in the annual clash vs Leicester Tigers, in which he scored 17 points, including a try.
At the start of 2008, Hercus signed a contract to play for Japanese club IBM Big Blue. In 2009, after just one season, Hercus signed with the Australian club Sunshine Coast Stingrays, where he was the club's leading scorer in limited action. Hercus played with the USA Eagles during the 2009 summer internationals, including the Eagles against Canada and Uruguay in the 2011 Rugby World Cup qualifying matches. These qualifying matches in 2009 were Hercus's last matches for the U.S. national team.
In 2010, Hercus returned to Australia and his junior club, the Gordon Highlanders, to compete in the Shute Shield. To start the season, he was named Gordon's captain but saw limited action due to injury. By midseason, rumors began to leak out that he had retired or intended to retire from both international and club rugby due to persistent reoccurring injuries. Although no official announcement has ever been made, he has been presumed retired since summer 2010.
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