Many American rugby players have played professional or college rugby overseas, but only a few have done it for a long time and exerted influence over the game.
Some Day Soon: Samu Manoa
He's only been a pro for less than two seasons, but Samu Manoa has done something few players can claim - he has changed world opinion. Despite the efforts of Salesi Sika and Albert Tuipulotu, Polynesian-American athletes just weren't on pro rugby's radar before Manoa joined Northampton.
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Some Day Soon: Scott LaValla
Highly respected as a player and a leader, LaValla captained Trinity in Ireland, and earned a three-year extension during his first year at Stade Francais.
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Some Day Soon: Eric Fry
Fry is smart and works enormously hard. He's at London Scottish now, and has some experience in NZ as well. Look for him to continue to make a name for himself as a pro.
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#10 Mike MacDonald
After battling to get time on various clubs, Mike MacDonald ended up at Leeds where he was team MVP and team captain. An American who does that is rare, and even rare as a prop, especially given the USA's less-than-stellar reputation in the scrum.
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#10 Mike MacDonald
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#9 Luke Gross
Luke Gross was the most-capped USA player until Mike MacDonald broke his record, but he still holds the record for the longest-tenured pro, as he played professional rugby for 11 seasons.
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# 9 Luke Gross
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#8 Paul Emerick
Almost all the players listed in this group are forwards. Paul Emerick was the first USA back to have a long career as a pro player. His greatest moments came when, playing for Overmach Parma, he eliminated Newport-Gwent from European competition with a last-minute try. The Dragons then snapped him up, and he did the same for his new Welsh club a year later!
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#8 Paul Emerick
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#7 Tom Billups
When rugby went pro ion 1996, few teams or players knew truly what it mean to be a professional athlete. Tom Billups, with his unflinching work ethic, was one player who showed his teammates at Harlequins and Pontypridd what it takes.
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#7 Tom Billups
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#6 Pete Dawkins
A Heisman Trohpy winner goes to Oxford, and not only picks up rugby, but is a star, and then changes the way the game is played by introducing the overhand torpedo throw for lineouts. Many around the world have forgotten his name. In the USA, where the CRC trophy bears his name, have not.
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# 6 Pete Dawkins
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#5 Taku Ngwenya
Takudzwa Ngwenya was a raw talent made superstar by one brilliant try in the 2007 World Cup. What makes him special is that he didn't rest on his laurels, learned to play the game, and recorded many more special moments for Biarritz, the French club he has started for ever since. He was, for a time, the most famous USA rugby player.
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#5 Taku Ngwenya
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#4 Chris Wyles
Chris Wyles is one of the best players on one of the best teams in Europe. He is a loyal USA player, and will tell anyone who will listen that his development as a professional had a lot to do with what the USA national team programs did for him. He is a special ambassador for the American game.
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#4 Chris Wyles
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#4 Chris Wyles
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# 3 Dave Hodges
If you didn't follow much rugby before 2004, you might not know much about Dave Hodges as a player. He was the personification of the word indomitable. Strong, unswerving, Hodges regularly played more than 40 1st class games a year, and was not only a star for Llanelli, but their MVP, their Fans MVP, and their Strength & Conditioning Coach. Oh, and captain of the USA, too. Any good feelings toward American players in Wales start with Hodgie.
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#3 Dave Hodges
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#3 Dave Hodges
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#2 Todd Clever
This is Todd scoring the first try by an American in Super Rugby. He is unquestionably the biggest American rugby star around the world, is amiable, recognizeable, dynamic, and groundbreaking. Oh, and he can play a bit, too.
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#2 Todd Clever
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#2 Todd Clever
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#1 Dan Lyle
There is no question that Dan Lyle is the most influential, and successful, American to go overseas. He broke into Bath as a newbie to the game in 1996, and quickly became recognized not only as a valuable player, but possibly the best No. 8 in the world.
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#1 Dan Lyle
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#1 Dan Lyle
By 1998 he had helped Bath win a European Cup, and he went on to captain the storied club - an unheard of situation for an American. Lyle showed up in England and demonstrated that American players could be great athletes and students of the game, too.
http://www.rugbymag.com/images/slideshows/overseas/danlyle-bath.jpg
