Hayes
John Hayes was the first Irish player to earn 100 caps for his country. Discover everything about this legend of the game with RugbyPass, your resident rugby gurus.
John Hayes Bio
Over his long and distinguished playing career, John Hayes made more than 100 appearances for Ireland and played in more than 200 games for Munster. As a result, he’s widely considered to be one of the finest props of his generation. John Hayes was inducted into the RugbyPass Hall of Fame in 2021.
Born 2 November 1973, John Hayes didn’t start playing rugby until the age of 18. However, partially thanks to his stature, his rise was meteoric and he made his first appearance for Munster in 1998.
He’d go on to play for the Irish side until 2011 and was a firm favourite with the fans, who called him ‘the bull’. During his time with Munster, John Hayes also became the first person to play 100 Heineken Champions Cup games.
Due to his heroic performances for Munster, John Hayes quickly caught the attention of the Irish selectors and he made his debut for the national side in 2000. A decade later, in 2010, he became the first Irish rugby player to earn 100 caps. During his international career, he was also selected for two British and Irish Lions tours, where he earned two caps.
John Hayes won almost every trophy the game has to offer. With Munster, he won the PRO14 on three occasions (when it was known as the Celtic League and the Magners League), the Celtic Cup once and the Heineken Champions Cup twice. For Ireland, he won the Grand Slam in the Six Nations in 2009 and he also claimed the Triple Crown four times (2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009).
Since retirement, John Hayes has retained a low profile. He works on his farm and coaches in Bruff, where his son and two daughters play.
