Grizzly Adam: Canadian rugby player threatens to shave off much-loved trademark beard... because 'I miss my face'

27-year-old's whiskers a highlight of Rugby World Cup

He was once a clean-shaven Canadian jock with a crew cut and dazzling white smile.



Now his ragged appearance makes Brad Pitt's foray into the forest of facial hair look positively restrained.



Hirsute rugby player Adam Kleeberger is desperate to cut out the caveman act - only his fans won't let him.

Because he's worth it: Adam Kleeberger looks as though he could be selling shampoo rather than playing rugby for his country

The furry flanker is now trending on Twitter because of those tangled locks - which topped off his man-of-the-match performance in Canada's win over Tonga at the rugby world cup on Wednesday.



'It would be pretty hard for me not to shave it off,' he told the tournament's website.



'I kind of miss having my face.



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



The shaggy beard and long hair have been his crowning glory in the eyes of an adoring public after the Canucks' excellent start to the World Cup.



They have attracted headlines such as 'Fear the beard' and 'Kleeberger helps his country win by a hair'.

One less generous observer added: 'Kleeberger is 27, but his beard looks a bit older'.



In a tangle: Fans don't want Kleeberger to chop off his flowing locks

Kleeberger has sparked a fashion for the castaway look among his national team, with Hubert Buydens and Jebb Sinclair also hoping that flowing beards will prove a source of strength.

The rugby players are not the first smooth-skinned stars to try out a more rugged style.

Boyishly handsome celebrities including Justin Timberlake, Ashton Kutcher and Jared Leto have all gone wild for the low-maintenance look.

But Kleeberger has taken his dragged-through-a-hedge-backwards image to new extremes.

Head band: Canada team-mate Hubert Buydens (centre) joins Kleeberger in letting his hair down ahead of the Rugby World Cup

The straggly, ginger chin fluff and brilliant play has wowed fans, who describe him as a 'beast'.



The fashion-forward flanker - who plays for Canada's British Columbia Bears - is just hoping the publicity will bring in a crop of offers from top teams as a result of the publicity.



'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.



Chin stroke: The flanker was itching to get rid of his long hair and beard

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



Either way, rugby fans will be shorn of their unlikely style icon when Kleeberger eventually takes the scissors to his seven months of dedicated hair-growth.



But he won't be getting the chop from the Canada team any time soon.