RUGBY:DAT OL' man river, He mus' know sumpin', But don't say nuthin', He jes' keeps rollin', He keeps on rollin' along.
As with Munster, so too there’s life in the mighty Bull yet. There he was, 37 years young, helping to earn his side a penalty try in the 79th minute.
His work-rate, especially in defence, had been incredible too. Normally, he don’t say nuthin’ either, but there he was, about an hour or so later, agreeing to a post-match rendezvous with the massed huddle of reporters in the bowels of Thomond Park; assuredly a first in 17 seasons. A Kodak moment, if ever there was one, and to prove the point James Coughlan took a picture of this historic event on his iPhone.
They use him selectively these days, but Munster’s scrum resurgence in the League semi-final and final has coincided with John Hayes’ recall to the frontrow. In the likes of the veteran bull and younger bolters in Conor Murray and Felix Jones, Munster have muddied the World Cup waters, and after all his achievements in the game, Hayes seems utterly relaxed in his own skin about what the future may or may not hold.
Asked whether he had played his last game for Munster, Hayes smiled and shrugged. “I don’t know, that’s the honest answer. I’ll just wait and see how it goes. I feel fine now, but it’s like anything, when you get a win things don’t hurt. But it’s the end of the season and I’m looking forward to a break now.
As for the World Cup, he simply said: “We’ll wait and see.” Right now, all that’s on his agenda is going back to the family farm. “I’ll go straight home because it’s a busy time of the year and I have to get jobs done. Straight home and I’ll get to do them, if the weather holds anyway. It would want to clear up a small bit!”
The key to his longevity, he reckons, is “in my case I actually started late, and I’m not saying that’s the right thing for any young fella but that definitely did help me, I suppose, in terms of development.”
Hayes took a little umbrage at the notion that lasting the full 80 might send a message to the watching Irish management. “I’ve played 80 minutes all my career so it’s nothing new to me, like. I’ve been doing it for years. I haven’t done it much this year, maybe, but I have done it every other year.”
Generously acknowledging what a great season Mike Ross has had, Hayes also had some sympathy for Leinster. “There’s no doubt, we’ve been there before, and if you play big matches every week it does take its toll. They had a huge game last week and there was travel involved, whereas we had two weeks to prepare. It was just a matter of getting the two weeks right, of not going off the boil and keeping that balance right.
“It’s just good to get the win. It’s been a long season, obviously it’s been disappointing in Europe but we’ve been good in the Magners but finishing the league stages on top doesn’t get you anything so it was important to get the knockout wins.”
Asked if Munster would welcome having Hayes around the set-up even if he did retire, Denis Leamy smiled broadly when commenting: “I think he probably deserves a rest, to be fair, after however long he’s been around, 13-14 years here at the top and he deserves his break. If the guy does decide to come back to rugby and around here he’ll be welcomed back with open arms. A legend.
“Just a great example as a player. Kept his head down, quiet, never complained, shied away from all media and cameras and just did his job incredibly well and dealt with criticism and dealt with the highs and everything so well – just a great example to young players and the hardest man you could ever meet. Really, really made of steel.”
