Munster's Mike Haley: ‘If I try to be Simon Zebo, I wouldn’t be true to myself’

Mike Haley fielded the early question with ease: Why did he leave Sale to come to Munster, having played 100 games for the English club?

Munster's Mike Haley: ‘If I try to be Simon Zebo, I wouldn’t be true to myself’

By Michael Moynihan

Mike Haley fielded the early question with ease: Why did he leave Sale to come to Munster, having played 100 games for the English club?

“Sometimes, you want to find a new challenge, something to bring the best out of you again, and when Munster come calling, how do you say no?”

When your grandmother is a Tralee native, it’s even easier to see the attraction. The defender is gearing up for his home European debut, even as he and his girlfriend, who is expecting, are looking for houses.

“Gloucester are playing great rugby, at the moment. They have Danny Cipriani at 10; he’s firing very well for them, so it’s going to be a big task to stop them this weekend. I’ve played against them a number of times, and they’re a very good side. They have a big pack, very fast backs, they’ve got good playmakers, and they’ve added to that squad this year. It’s no surprise they’re where they are right now, but our focus is really on ourselves and bringing what we can.”

Like last Saturday, against Exeter. Not that Haley is looking for repeat playing conditions.

“It was a bit of a different match in all, because of the weather, the wind... it was ridiculous, so we knew playing into it for 40 minutes of the game was going to be tough, that there’d be moments — as happened, literally, in the game — where you’d get to their try-line, they’d turn the ball over, and be able to boot it 85 metres.

“You just have to go again, but I think the team responded brilliantly to that. Everyone knew it’d be a hard day and hard graft. Munster are renowned for rising in Europe and I felt the team just did that again.”

However, he did his due diligence, before signing on the dotted line.

“I would have played with (Alex) Wootton back in the day. I sought out Ciaran Parker (who he played with at Sale, up until 2017) and chatted to him, as well.

“It wasn’t as if I turned up not knowing anyone. I was trying to make connections early on. Everyone is exactly where I thought they would be. Joey Carbery is a fantastic player, the addition of Tadhg Beirne is fantastic, and, obviously, they had the heroes here already, like Peter O’Mahony, Keith Earls, Andrew Conway.”

He’s conscious of not trying to copy the man he’s replacing. “No, if I try to be Simon Zebo, I wouldn’t be true to myself. I am confident in what I can do. I know what I can do. The key thing is not to try too hard. You don’t want to be running from underneath your own sticks, when it is not on. You need to have that decision-making in your mind and when you are making those decisions, you need to make sure they are 100% and know what you are doing.

Simon is a fantastic player and is brilliant for the club, but I am trying to do what I am doing now.

Haley is interested in the green jersey, though he’s politie enough to recognise it’s one step at a time. “That’s definitely fair to say, but it’s something, obviously, I can’t focus on right now. I have to focus on being in the team week to week, and then, whatever else happens, happens”.

He was in camp with Ireland recently, mind: “It was good fun. It was tough work and, in your first one, you want to make an impression.

“As far as I know, I did that, but, as I said, my main objective is to start for Munster and to do well for Munster. Everything else takes care of itself.”

He’s settling in, since getting his boots dirty: “I’d say, when you get your first pre-season under your belt, that is key, because while it’s all good training, it’s when you get 80 minutes under your belt, that’s defining.

“Definitely, last weekend, that was a real, hard draw, because you had to dig deep and sometimes, games like that, you do feel a bond and that a team spirit comes through.”

His father’s coming over for the game Saturday (“Because he wants to bring his dogs over and take them for a run in the countryside”), but he’s not sure whether they’ll hit Tralee and his grandmother’s cottage in Fenit.

“I learned to sail down there, and I don’t know if you believe this or not, but we got called in, because there was a shark spotted in the water. That was the last time I went sailing.”

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