John James Hayes (born 2 November 1973) is a retired Irish

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 it ...

player who played in the Pro12 and Heineken Cup for Munster. He didn't start playing rugby until he was 18; prior to this he played with the local Cappamore GAA hurling club. It was his size (6 ft 4 in, 19 stone) that enabled him to overcome his late start to the sport. He continues to "follow GAA in Limerick very much and especially hurling".

Early rugby

Hayes was introduced to the game of rugby union by friends when he joined local rugby club Bruff in

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Ireland, Province , subd ...

. He then moved up a grade when he joined Shannon before travelling to Invercargill, New Zealand, where he changed position from

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

to prop because he had "bulked up". On his return to Ireland, he rejoined Shannon and gained a place on the Munster squad. He later rejoined his original club Bruff when they joined the AIL as a senior club in 2004. In September 2012, he released his autobiography ''The Bull: My Story'', which details his sporting life. On 5 October 2012, he appeared as a guest on the '' Late Late Show'' alongside his wife to talk about his career.

Munster

In 2006, he helped Munster win the Heineken European Cup in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

's Millennium Stadium on 21 May against Biarritz. Earlier that year, he had helped Ireland secure the

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

. In 2008, he again helped Munster win the Heineken European Cup in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on 24 May against

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

. He became the fifth Munster player to win 200 caps in the Magners League semi-final against Ospreys on 14 May 2011. In July 2011, Hayes was left out the 45-man Munster squad for the forthcoming season fuelling speculation that he may retire after the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Despite the speculation that Hayes would retire, he came off the bench for Munster in their opening Pro12 match against Newport Gwent Dragons in September 2011. Hayes was contracted with Munster until the end of 2011. Hayes became the first person to play 100 Heineken Cup games in November 2011 when he came on against

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

in the 2011–12 Heineken Cup. It was announced that Hayes would retire after Munster's Pro12 fixture against

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Del ...

on 26 December 2011. He was selected to start his final match, and was substituted in the 58th minute, going off the pitch to a huge standing ovation from the crowd. Munster won the match 24–9.

Ireland

Hayes won his first international cap against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

in 2000 and was Ireland's first-choice tighthead prop from then until the beginning of the 2010–11 season when he was replaced by Leinster's Mike Ross. He was a member of the

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

squad in their tour to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 2005 and played in the warm-up test match vs Argentina. Hayes became Ireland's most capped player during Ireland's first

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

in 61 years in 2009 with 94 appearances. He earned his 100th cap for Ireland against England on 27 February 2010. He was the first Irish player to do so. Hayes led Ireland out onto the pitch before the game to a standing ovation from the

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

crowd. Ireland went on to win 20–16 with a late try by

Tommy Bowe Thomas John Bowe (born 22 February 1984) is an Irish former rugby union player from County Monaghan, Ireland. He played on the wing for Ulster, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions. In March 2012, after four years with Ospreys in Swansea, Wal ...

. Hayes did not play against the Barbarians in Ireland's first match of the summer tests and missed the test against New Zealand through illness. He came on as a replacement against New Zealand Maori but was left out of the squad to play Australia, thereby losing his title of Ireland's most capped player to Brian O'Driscoll. Hayes was selected in Ireland's training squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup warm-ups in August and came off the bench in Ireland's first warm-up against

. This turned out to be his last appearance for Ireland as he was not selected in the final 30-man squad for the tournament in New Zealand. He retired in December 2011.

2009 Lions Tour

On 18 June 2009, Hayes was called up to the

squad in South Africa as a replacement for the injured Euan Murray. He played in the final test of the tour.

Statistics

International analysis by opposition

Correct as of 5 July 2017John Hayes
''ESPN Scrum'', 5 July 2017 * indicates inclusion of caps for

Honours

Munster

* United Rugby Championship: ** Winner (3): 2002–03, 2008–09,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

* Celtic Cup: ** Winner (1): 2004–05 * European Rugby Champions Cup: ** Winner (2): 2005–06, 2007–08

Ireland

* Six Nations Championship: ** Winner (1): 2009 *

: ** Winner (1): 2009 *

: ** Winner (4): 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009

References

External links

Munster ProfileIreland ProfileBritish & Irish Lions ProfilePro14 Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, John 1973 births Living people Rugby union players from County Limerick Irish rugby union players Shannon RFC players Munster Rugby players Ireland international rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Rugby union props