Haley's Comet Comes Down To Earth In South Africa

If versatility is a key to success in rugby then Sale Sharks' youngster Mike Haley could have a better than average chance in the game.

The teenager has played for Lancashire as blindside flanker, the North as inside centre and England at full-back.

Now he’s in South Africa trying his hand – and his unerring right boot – at No 10 for Border Bulldogs in the Under-19 Currie Cup.

Throw in a selection of other shirts including numbers 13, eight and five in the decade since he first picked up a rugby ball for Preston Grasshoppers Under-9s and you get some idea of the scope of young Haley’s talent.

Yet, of all his many guises on the field, it is at 15 where Sale appear to fancy him most – throwing him straight into a Premiership debut at full-back at Northampton last season while he was still aged just 18.

Sadly it ended in a comprehensive 47-7 defeat for the Sharks. But even a battering of such proportions failed to spoil Haley’s enjoyment of a milestone day in his life.

"It was exciting to play there in front of a packed out Franklins Gardens,” he recalled. “Even though we had a tough day!"

Haley’s transformation from forward to back has come in the last three years – in direct contrast to fellow Sale prospect Josh Beaumont.

Beaumont, youngest of Bill’s three sons, was a fly-half at school in Lancashire before growing into his limbs and filling out to become, like dad, a powerful lock.

But Haley went the opposite way, playing in the pack at Hutton Grammar School in Preston – which counts former England internationals Steve Borthwick and Tony Swift amongst its old boys – before opting for the wide open pastures of the back division.

A Lancashire player at every age group so far – and captain of the Under 16s – he had the distinction of impressing the North selectors both as a forward at 16 and as a back at 18.

Between those two age groups he left Hutton, spent the first year of his sixth form at Hartpury College in Gloucester and the second year doing rugby studies at Myerscough College near Preston before joining the family accountancy firm.

If, as seems likely, the rugby goes well, then dad Tim may have a long wait on his hands before son Mike is earning his living in the office.

It was while Haley was at Myerscough that his international chance came along, kicking a dramatic and nerveless late penalty for the North 18 group to beat the South West 32-31 and clinch his place in the England Under-18 Clubs and Schools squad to face Ireland.

Now part of the Sale Academy squad he has his sights set on England Under-20 selection, but knows competition is tough no matter which position he cares to eye up.

Two appearances in the Sharks First XV during 2012/13 came entirely out of the blue for the youngster.

The first of those, against Saracens in the LV= Cup semi-finals, arrived like a bolt of lightning when Aussie full-back Cameron Shepherd crocked himself in the warm-up.

"I was 25th man, reserve, for the Sarries match and Cameron went down three minutes before kick off," he recalled.

"You can imagine the shock when they threw me the shirt and I went straight into the starting 15!

"Looking back it was probably the best way it could have happened though because I didn't have days before to think about it and get nervous. It just happened and before it had sunk in the match was over.

"My Prem debut at Northampton was different, I had a whole week to get used to the idea I would be starting and get myself mentally prepared for it.

"To be honest the whole of last season was a great surprise. I couldn't have dreamed at the start of it I would get even two games in the first team. It was awesome and obviously now I've sampled it I'd love more games.

"Making your debut for a club like Sale is a dream come true.It was very special and something I'll never forget, whatever happens from here on in. I'd love more this coming season, but I know it will be a tough year with the new signings the club has brought in."

While his fellow Academy hopefuls have been putting in the hard yards in pre-season training, Haley has been getting a taste of how they play rugby in South Africa as part of an exchange scheme between Sale and the Bulldogs.

He and young prop James Flynn have been flown out to East London to extend their rugby education, just as Nathan Fowles and Sam James did last year.

"The decision to go was purely Sale's," he said. "They did it last year with Nathan and Sam and it was a success, so they decided to send James and me out this year for the experience.

"So far I've played 10, 12, 13 and 15, so I'm getting plenty of variety. The games are fast and the ground is hard. But it suits how I play, so I settled in quite quickly.

"I'm in the under-19s in the A Division of the Currie Cup. Obviously I've got aspirations to move up to the under-21s whilst I'm out here, so we'll see how that works out.

"James and me are sharing a place. We live at the Bulldogs training facility where most of the under-19s and under-21s live.

"As I said I've played at 10, which is a new one for me. I'm giving it a go while I'm out here, although it's early days. It's another position, another string to the bow.

"I want to come back to England a better player and I think the experience of a different style of game can only be good."