Michael Patrick Haley (born 28 June 1994) is an English-born, Irish-qualified professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player, currently playing for Irish province

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

in the

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

and

European Rugby Champions Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

and the Ireland national team. Haley was born and grew up in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, but he qualifies for Ireland through his maternal grandmother. He plays as a fullback.

Club career

Sale Sharks

Haley made his professional debut for Sale against

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

on 10 March 2013, in the semi-final of the

2012–13 LV Cup The 2012–13 LV Cup (styled as the LV= Cup) is the 42nd season of England's national rugby union cup competition, and the eighth to follow the Anglo-Welsh format. The competition consists of the four Welsh Pro12 teams and the 12 English Premiers ...

Munster

It was announced in February 2018 that Haley would be joining Irish

side

on a three-year contract at the start of the 2018–19 season. Haley is Irish-qualified through his maternal grandmother, who hails from

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in County ...

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

. He made his competitive debut for Munster on 1 September 2018, starting at fullback in their opening

2018–19 Pro14 The 2018–19 Pro14 (also known as the '' Guinness Pro14'' for sponsorship reasons) is the eighteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the second season to be referred to as the ''Pr ...

fixture against South African side

Cheetahs The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

Thomond Park Thomond Park is a stadium in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and has Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. Limerick FC played home games in Thomond Park fr ...

, a game which Munster won 38–0. Haley made his European debut for Munster on 13 October 2018, starting in the provinces 10–10 draw with

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...

Sandy Park Sandy Park is a rugby union stadium and conference and banqueting centre in Exeter, England. It is the home ground of Exeter Chiefs, who from the 2010–11 season have been playing in the Gallagher Premiership, the top flight of the English rug ...

in the sides' opening 2018–19 Champions Cup fixture. He scored his first try for Munster on 20 October 2018, doing so in the provinces 36–22 win against

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

. Haley signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in March 2021, and extended that contract by a further two years in September 2022. He started and scored one try in Munster's historic 28–14 win against a South Africa XV in

Páirc Uí Chaoimh Páirc Uí Chaoimh ( ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Cork (city), Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the home of Cork GAA. The venue, often referred to simply as The Park, is located in Ballintemple, Cork, Ballintemple and is built near to ...

on 10 November 2022.

International career

Haley received his first call-up to the senior

squad by coach Eddie Jones for a three-day training camp in May 2016. He made his debut for the

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emer ...

on their tour against South Africa A in June 2016. However, this appearance did not tie him fully to the

RFU The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It pro ...

because, at the time, South Africa A was not SARU's second team. Haley was subsequently named in a provisional elite player squad for the 2016–17 season. Haley represented an England XV in the Old Mutual Wealth Cup against the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

in a non-cap international at

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team play ...

in May 2017. Again, this match did not tie him to the RFU as the Barbarians are a club team, and he thus remained eligible for future Ireland selection. In May 2019, Haley was named by

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

head coach Joe Schmidt in a 44-man training squad for the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

. Along with

teammate Jean Kleyn, this was Haley's first time being named in an Ireland squad. He made his debut for Ireland in their 2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up match against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

on 10 August 2019, featuring as a replacement in the 29–10 win. However, Haley was dropped from the squad before the

References

External links

Munster ProfileURC Profile
*
Ireland Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haley, Mike 1994 births Living people English people of Irish descent People educated at Hutton Grammar School Rugby union players from Preston, Lancashire English rugby union players Sale Sharks players Preston Grasshoppers R.F.C. players Munster Rugby players Ireland international rugby union players English expatriate rugby union players English expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Expatriate rugby union players in Ireland Rugby union fullbacks