Cult hero Hayes relishes Hampden roar

From the swashbuckling Sebastian Cancelliere, to the Fijian flair of Niko Matawalu and Leone Nakarawa, to the teak-tough tackling of Jason White – you could spend hours dissecting the merits and memories present to this day amongst the Warrior Nation as they regale each other with tales of their favourite adopted sons.

Yet in every conversation, there’s always room for the man who can arguably lay claim to being Glasgow’s original cult hero.

The affection remains mutual for Tommy Hayes, as the former Cook Islands international took a walk down memory lane 28 years on from his first outing in Glasgow colours prior to presenting the match ball at Hampden Park last weekend.

“Oh, I loved it,” said Hayes, reflecting on his time in the west of Scotland from his home in the west Midlands.

“Pro rugby was very much still in its infancy when I first arrived in Glasgow, so everyone was kind of learning together.

“When we first landed, the weather was great, which surprised me to say the least! We’d just passed the middle of summer, so about August, and it was absolutely beautiful – it was warm, the pitches all looked so green, and I was really excited and raring to go.

“It lasted for a wee while, so that was a dream introduction into life in Scotland really!”

Yet whilst it might have been the fly-half’s introduction to life in Scotland, Hayes was already familiar with a key partner in the Glasgow back-line, courtesy of some sharp thinking from then-Head Coach, Kevin Greene.

“A couple of the lads had come out to New Zealand for a bit of a summer exchange – Jamie Weston was an outstanding scrum-half for Glasgow, and he’d come out to my local club in Tokoroa, New Zealand, for the summer,” explained Hayes.

“There are three senior clubs in the town, and Kevin had decided to send a few players over and see how they got on.

“By the time I decided to head up to Glasgow with Jamie, we’d played about six or seven games together, so it definitely served us well as a half-back combination!”

Having made his debut away to Ulster in the club’s first-ever fixture in what is now the Investec Champions Cup, Hayes quickly established himself as a firm fan favourite amongst the cast of characters that called Glasgow home.

Even in the early days of professionalism, what would become known as ‘the Glasgow way’ was evident each time the club took to the field, the fly-half conducting his orchestra with aplomb.

“I’ll be doing an injustice to all the names I’m not mentioning here!” laughed Hayes.

“It was such a welcoming group of lads and I definitely hit the ground running.

“I’ve mentioned Jamie already, and Fraser Stott was another nine that I played with – he was a supremely talented player.

“Glenn Metcalfe was someone who I’d played against while still in New Zealand, and Mike Beckham came over at the same time as I did, too, so we very quickly got to know the characters and talents in the Glasgow squad.

“Guys like Cammy Little, Chris Simmers, Derek Stark – I loved playing with Starky in the back-line, it was so much fun.

“It was a proper melting pot and there were some outstanding matches in that first season, but above all we all just thoroughly enjoyed ourselves both on and off the pitch. We loved playing together and we all got on so well away from rugby too, so it was a really comfortable position to be in.”

Such was the fly-half’s impact on Glasgow rugby, many of the records set by Hayes during his six-year spell in the city still stand to this day.

The first player to reach 100 appearances in Glasgow colours and the first to reach 1000 points for the club, he remains second on the club’s all-time points chart – behind only Dan Parks – and is still the club’s leading points scorer in European competition.

Holder of the club’s record for points in a single game (32) and single season (303), the list of Hayes’ achievements goes on and on – a fact about which the man himself retains a sense of immense pride.

“Any time you manage to achieve those sort of stats, it’s always a big honour,” said Hayes.

“My girlfriend and I were talking with some friends recently, and looking back on my time with Glasgow still gives me a huge amount of satisfaction. It was an absolutely cracking time of my life – when you’re relaxed, settled and happy, things just go right.

“We had a fantastic team, a great setup and things just tended to work out the right way. All that just allowed me to put my best foot forward, and the fact that some of those stats still stand are something I’m hugely proud of.”

As with all good cult heroes, though, Hayes reserved an additional performance level for when the atmosphere ratcheted up an extra notch.

The fly-half would often take his already superlative game to new heights for 1872 Cup clashes, recording one classic performance after another when Edinburgh lined up on the other side of the halfway line.

With the stage set for the latest chapter in the historic rivalry, Hayes knows full well the no-holds-barred nature of the events about to unfold against the sound of the Hampden roar – a roar to which he’ll be adding his voice as part of the Warrior Nation.

“Derby matches are always fun – there’s that extra bit of edge and anticipation around them, and the build up is something else too,” he said.

“We had some absolute ding-dong battles with Edinburgh over the years – some of them didn’t go our way, but the ones where we came out on top were right up there with some of the best memories on-field for me.

“People always talk about how much of a football city Glasgow is, but I genuinely think that the Glasgow supporters are right up there with some of the best in the game.

“They’re so passionate about their rugby and their team and they’re a true credit to the club.

“To see how the club has gone from strength to strength over the years, and got better and better as the game evolves, it’s been absolutely fantastic.”