English Podcasts | Classic All Blacks Carl Hayman rugby player

Classic All Blacks Carl Hayman rugby player

Carl Hayman (born 14 November 1979 in Opunake, New Zealand) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who plays at tighthead prop.

Hayman has previously played for the Highlanders in Super Rugby, Otago in the NPC, and Newcastle Falcons in the English Premiership, as well as making 45 appearances for New Zealand at international level.

He became the 1000th All Black when he made his debut against Samoa in 2001.

Since then he has established himself as one of the elite props in world rugby.

In 2005, Carl Hayman played for the New Zealand Māori, against Fiji in Suva and against the British & Irish Lions at Hamilton.

In 2006 he was shortlisted as one of 5 candidates for New Zealand Player of the Year.

On 19 April 2007 it was announced that Carl Hayman had signed a 3-year contract with Guinness Premiership side Newcastle Falcons, turning down an offer from league champions Sale Sharks to do so.

On 22 March 2010, it was announced that Carl Hayman would join French club Toulon at the end of the season.

He becomes one of a number of high-profile players that signed for Toulon alongside Jonny Wilkinson, Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, Felipe Contepomi and Joe Van Niekerk.

The decision to stay in Europe made him ineligible for the 2011 Rugby World Cup due to the New Zealand Rugby Union’s policy of only selecting players who have played in the New Zealand domestic competition.

In 2010, he was selected in the Barbarians squad to play Tonga on 26 November.

In May 2013 he started as Toulon won the 2013 Heineken Cup Final by 16–15 against Clermont Auvergne.

The Classic All Blacks is a rugby union team made up of players from the New Zealand men’s rugby team.

It is not an official national team of New Zealand. First put together in 2007, the team has played Japan three times, English Premiership side Leicester Tigers and ‘classic’ teams from France and Australia.

In 2013 the side played Fiji as part of the Fiji Rugby Union’s centennial anniversary.

On 7 October 2015, the Classic All Blacks played Toulon at the Stade Mayol in a match to honour the late Jerry Collins.

This interview was done on 7th October 2015 after breakfast, on match day, which was a very emotional time for the players who played with Jerry Collins in the past.