John James Hayes (born 2 November 1973) is a retired Irish rugby union player who was the first man to make 100 appearances for his country. A tighthead prop, Hayes was selected for two British and Irish Lions tours, earning two Test caps. At club level he represented Munster over 200 times and played for Limerick junior club Bruff and later top club side Shannon. He also spent a period playing rugby in New Zealand.
Hayes did not start playing rugby until he was 18; prior to this he played with his local GAA club Cappamore. After Bruff, Hayes moved up a grade by joining Shannon. In 1995 he went to Invercargill Blues, New Zealand, where he changed position from lock to prop because he was a dedicated trainer and his frame had developed.[1] On his return to Ireland, Hayes rejoined Shannon and gained a place on the Munster squad. He later rejoined Bruff when they entered the All-Ireland League as a senior club in 2004.
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.[3]
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.
It was announced that Hayes would retire after Munster's Pro12 fixture against Connacht on 26 December 2011.[6] He was selected to start his final match,[7][8] 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.[9][10]
Ireland
Hayes won his first international cap against Scotland 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 squad in their tour to New Zealand 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 in 61 years in 2009 with 94 appearances.[11]
He earned his 100th cap for Ireland against England on 27 February 2010.[12] He was the first Irish player to do so.[13] Having made his test debut at 26 years and 2 months old, he became the oldest ever debutant to go and win 100 international caps, a title he still holds. Hayes led Ireland out onto the pitch before the game to a standing ovation from the Twickenham crowd. Ireland went on to win 20–16 with a late try by Tommy Bowe. 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.[14]
Hayes was selected in Ireland's training squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup warm-ups in August[15] and came off the bench in Ireland's first warm-up against Scotland.[16] 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 British & Irish Lions squad in South Africa as a replacement for the injured Euan Murray. He played in the final test of the tour.[17]
Personal life
In September 2012, Hayes 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. He continues to "follow GAA in Limerick very much and especially hurling".[18]
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