Hayman says acid on to reproduce England form

By WYNNE GRAY

Late November last year Carl Hayman interrupted a night's spotlighting with a couple of mates to watch the World Cup semifinal in a Balclutha pub.

As the test ground down to an unpalatable defeat, Hayman and his mates left. Their evening shooting was equally disagreeable, no results, and Hayman thought they would have been better staying at the boozer.

"The whole test was a shock after the week leading up to that. It was such a huge turnaround," he said.

This year has brought a similar change for Hayman. Forget his hunting, shooting or fishing results. Hayman has returned to the All Blacks after his brief foray into national rugby colours in 2001-2002.

"Things are going all right at this stage. I can't complain really," said the massive tighthead prop.

Hayman is starting to feel at ease in the All Blacks after his selection in the squad was endorsed with his choice as starting prop for the major tests against England and the Tri-Nations series starting tomorrow against the Wallabies.

"You hold your breath most of the time to see if you get picked with everyone new coming in and under pressure. It keeps everyone on edge. It is good in a way but everyone is a bit more comfortable now because we know each other better and know the systems they want us to work on," he said.

After the All Blacks had a patchy couple of tests, Hayman accepted the acid was back on the tight five to reproduce what they showed against World Cup holders England.

"We were all up for that but we have to go again. I don't think we have got back to how we were at the start and it has to happen for this game," he said.

"A lot of it is mental. That is really the guts of it and how things work out on the night. But at this level much of it is about attitude and getting that part of your game sorted."

Hayman has to deal with a few gags about his grizzly beard and suggestions about what should happen to it.

For now it is staying. There is no superstition about its retention; he is not keeping it as a victorious emblem.

"It just gets cold in the winter so I tend to grow one then," he said.

He had not grown the beard as a weapon, an irritant to annoy opposing loosehead props. However, he received some feedback one year from Otago team-mate Carl Hoeft in club rugby that his facial growth had "rashed his face up a bit".

Hayman was born in Taranaki and a number of relations from his mother's side of the family will make the journey from there for this Bledisloe Cup test in Wellington.

"Some of them are busy with calving but a few of them will be coming down," he said. "None are coming up from Dunedin. I think it would be a bit fast for them up here," he chuckled.

Hayman is a big bloke, a man with a reputation for demolishing large meals.

"I have changed a bit from my younger days," he said. "I still eat a fair bit but now if you put the right stuff in you get the right stuff out the other end ... energy-wise I mean.

"We have a lot of people looking after us now with the right nutrition guidelines and that is a big change. When I was young I would get into the roasts and things big time. Now it is more a balance."

Hayman's physique has not changed greatly but is more match-hardened, used to taking the knocks, honed to repeated work at rugby's coalface. He has more scar tissue, as well, with a neat repair job on his forehead from the first test against England the latest panelbeating in his career.

"It is rewarding but it is demanding. It is not easy but if you want to get stuck in then the rewards are there for you."

Hayman cannot comprehend how someone like injured Wallaby captain George Gregan could play almost 100 internationals.

"It is a lot of tests," he said laconically.

"Just getting to that mark would be a lot of games to play for a province. It is hard to imagine - you'd have to stay injury-free and be a top choice for at least a decade," he said.

Hayman sharpens his technique with scrum adviser Mike Cron in the All Black camp and in Dunedin, uses the guidance of former provincial prop Steve Cumberland.

Lineout hoisting is one of Hayman's attributes, his height allowing him to lift the jumpers a precious extra few centimetres. Keith Robinson, Simon Maling and Jono Gibbes were okay to hoist but Chris Jack was a weightier cargo.

After all that lifting did he ever hanker to be a lineout target himself, take the occasional catch like another tall All Black prop, Craig Dowd, used to?

"I've tried a few at training but the chances of them being used in a match are slim, I think. We did a few at Otago training but guys like Maling are reluctant to give me any help on the jump."

Hayman is contracted for a further two years with Otago, where he has battled, in recent years, with Kees Meeuws, Carl Hoeft, Joe McDonnell, and others for regular selection.

Getting parts of games helped graft him into the job while Meeuws' transfer to Auckland gave him consistent access to the tighthead role.

Hayman is not ready to follow the trend and try out at loosehead as well. He switched a couple of times in the Super 12 and NPC but he found it too taxing at this early stage of his career.

"I have enough to worry about without moving over there just yet," he said.

Hayman's opposition tonight comes from Bill Young, the angular Wallaby loosehead prop who plays his 30th test in Wellington. Questions are often asked about his methods.

"A lot of people have a go at his technique but he has been an international prop for a few years now so there can't be too much wrong with what he is doing," Hayman said.

"Everyone is doing something wrong at some stage. It is just a matter of whether you get pinged for it. You just have to get out and get into it.

"He is the sort of guy you might think you have and then he comes back and bites you on the backside."

CARL HAYMAN

Born: November 14, 1979 at Opunake

Height: 1.93m

Weight: 120kg

Test debut: June 16, 2001 v Samoa (making him the 1000th All Black)

Tests: 11