On Wednesday, May 9 at the tenth annual IRUPA Rugby Players Awards, former Ireland, Munster & Lions prop John ‘The Bull’ Hayes will become the 12th player to be inducted into the IRUPA Hall of Fame.
2012 inductee John Hayes joins other players such as Malcolm O’Kelly, Girvan Dempsey, Anthony Foley, David Humphreys and Keith Wood in the IRUPA Hall of Fame.
With a career spanning almost 15 years, John started his rugby career as a wing forward with Bruff RFC before joining senior club Shannon RFC.
Following a stint in New Zealand and a positional move, John returned to Ireland and gained his spot in the front row for Munster.
He won his first full international cap in 2000 against Scotland and became Ireland’s most-capped player during Ireland’s 2009 Grand Slam with 94 appearances.
John helped Ireland to the Grand Slam in 2009 and has won four Triple Crowns. A member of the 2005 British & Irish Lions, he also received a call-up to the 2009 British & Irish Lions squad where he featured in the final Test match of the tour.
In February 2010, he became the first Irish player to win 100 caps for his country, leading Ireland out to a standing ovation from the Twickenham crowd.
John made his debut for Munster in 1995. In a legendary career, he has helped them win two Heineken Cups, in 2006 and 2008, and became the first player to play 100 Heineken Cup games in November 2011.
John played his final game for Munster against Connacht in the RaboDirect Pro12 last December, leaving the pitch to a huge standing ovation.
On hearing of his induction, John said: “I’m delighted to be accepting this award and joining the great players already inducted into the IRUPA Hall of Fame.
“It’s a great honour and means a huge amount as it comes from the players I played with and against during my career.”
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