John Hayes was born in Cappamore, Co. Limerick in 1973. He joined Bruff Rugby Club at the age of 18 and after learning his trade as a prop at Shannon and Munster, made his first international appearance in February 2000 against Scotland. Hayes went on to have a record-making career for Munster and Ireland. He is the most capped Irish forward of all time and 12th most capped player in the world. He has also played over 200 games for Munster, winning the Heineken Cup with them twice in 2006 and 2008. Hayes has been on two Lions tours and he won the Six Nations Grand slam with Ireland in 2009.