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All professional players get nerves before a big game but you would think that a man of John Hayes’ dominating stature wouldn’t be susceptible to nausea.
The Cappamore man infamously got sick before that famous game against England in Croke Park but that didn’t stop him from putting in a brilliant display that helped Ireland to a historic victory.
However, Hayes recalled on the The Clubhouse on TV3 last Tuesday that this wasn’t a one-off occasion, it was something which plagued him throughout his career: “From match days it would have been (a regular occurrence). All the hydration protocol I would have gone through beforehand would have been gone and I’d have to start again!”
Hayes reveals that it could come about just minutes before kick-off: “Just minutes, sometimes even just getting onto the pitch, it could go as close as that.”
Gordon D’Arcy who was also on the show adds that the sight of Hayes in the toilets before a match was a familiar sight: “Sometimes you would be going into the toilet yourself and you would see the two feet sticking out! You would just see the boots because he is on his knees!”
Also on the same show, Hayes admits to getting revenge on Peter Stringer because the scrum-half built a snowman in his bedroom.
Hayes stuck to what he knew best and went out into the night in search of a sheep….which he ushered into the Corkman’s bedroom!
The Clubhouse will be back with a Champions Cup Special on Tuesday the 18th of April at 10:30pm on TV3.
The Clubhouse has teamed up with the Heineken Rugby Club to provide a weekly on-air competition which will send lucky winners to the Champions Cup final in Edinburgh in May. The Heineken Rugby Club offers exclusive rugby content and your chance to win prizes, tickets and more at the Heineken Rugby Club website.
Brought to you by TV3.
