Comments on: John Hayes Celebrates 100 Caps With Victory at Twickenham

By: johnw

johnw — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:46:53 +0000

By Johnno I was referring to Martin Johnson and his managerial abilities, rather than his possible appeal to the ladies…..and Steve Borthwick, Simon Shaw and Nick Easter, English certainly, but "boyish"? Hmmmm..
Anyway up, good luck to Bull, whatever he does.

By: FME

FME — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:38:06 +0000

Off it.. John Hayes is sexy in an Irish manly kinda way. Most of the english team, all right in a kinda boyish english way.

By: johnw

johnw — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:31:58 +0000

Ahh, Johnno was the best on the field, but off it?

By: Bock

Bock — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:43:26 +0000

There's no doubt about it. John is one of those guys you can't help admiring, as much for his modesty as his greatness.

I don't know why you'd want him though, when you have Martin Johnson.

By: johnw

johnw — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:19:07 +0000

Lovely, almost elegiac piece Bock.
Bull is a player who represents the game at a level to which others should always aspire. Even though he's been a constant force and a thorn in the side for us since the 2001 Lansdowne Road match, he's someone who will always be remembered as a cracking player, an unstarry and honest man. Good on him, and I hope he goes on for a long time yet.
Young players should ascribe to this man's values.
Any chance he might fancy the job of England coach?

By: Mairéad

Mairéad — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:28:10 +0000

What a man!
What a role model!
What a hero!
Good man, John Hayes.

By: King's Bard

King's Bard — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:35:50 +0000

Well done Bock A fitting tribute to a gentle giant. Being a Cappamore man I can vouch for every word of it.

By: HisGirlFriday

HisGirlFriday — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:19:02 +0000

A lovely tribute, Bock, well written.

By: yobbah

yobbah — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:04:38 +0000

Fair play to John, good to see him do well as I went to the same school and was in the same class as his brother.

"Because he came so late to the game" can be explained. The school he went to considered soccer, rugby, basketball etc to be "foreign" games and actively discouraged. Even Gaelic football was considered effeminate. Which only left hurling, which I reckon he played. John, if my own recollections of my time there are any indication, would have begun his apprenticeship in rugby at lunch time when a plastic bottle stuffed with grass and stones served to function as the oval ball on a small strip of ground in the yard. This activity was often broken up if discovered.

So, John's achievement is all the more remarkable in light of the fact that the odds were stacked against him in achieving any career in the game.

By: john

john — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 23:32:09 +0000

Brilliant piece Bock. Hayes has had a long, brilliant and honest career. An inspiration .