Mike Haley - It’s Good To Be Home

After almost two months of playing rugby in South Africa in the under 19s Currie Cup, combined with a relentless weekly training schedule, anyone would want to return home for a rest.

Not for Mike Haley, who, after landing back on English soil on a Sunday afternoon two weeks ago, was representing the Sale Jets in an Aviva A-League game on Monday night, away in Newcastle.

The former Hutton Grammar School pupil admitted that “it was a crazy few hours turnaround. Almost as soon as I had switched my phone back on again after the flight, a call came through saying ‘get ready’, because I’d been selected for a Jets game the next day.

“It was a good, close game away at Newcastle, who were a really good side. Unfortunately, though, we played well in the backs, but couldn’t really match them upfront.”

The Sale Jets lost the game 26-18 to the North Easterly side, but, despite the result, and a “lot of cramp” towards the end of the game, Haley confessed that “it felt great to be back playing in England and for Sale again.

“I felt a bit out of it at first, having to adjust to all the different calls and game plans that the boys had worked on over pre-season, but soon felt like I slotted back in.

“I felt like I was at home again; it was great to have really good players all around me, constantly reading how the game and how I play.”

After returning back to England from South Africa the young utility back spoke to Talking Rugby Union and admitted that he has come back from the experience of a lifetime, with “mixed emotions.

“Obviously the experience was amazing, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to play in another country, never mind the Southern Hemisphere; but, we lost every game.

“The experience was very beneficial for me as a player now and I know it will be for the rest of my career. However, the team I played for weren’t really competitive.

“We played against under 19s sides from Super 14 big name teams like the Sharks, Cheetahs and Bulls; but a few of the players weren’t really up to the standard.”

The Preston-born back, who has played for Hutton Grammar School, Myerscough College, Hartpury College, Lancashire, the North of England and England under-18 Clubs and Schools squad – to name but a few teams – embarked on his latest venture to South Africa in late July.

Alongside fellow Sale teammate James Flynn, Haley flew out to East London in South Africa to play for the Border Bulldogs. The club is located just north of the famed Port Elizabeth and south of Durban.

“I played seven games whilst I was out there and it was an amazing experience; however, yeah, it was hard work at times to keep picking myself up after losing each game.

“We played some of the country’s best teams, like the Sharks, Blue Bulls, Golden Lions and Leopards.
“One of my greatest rugby experiences to date came when we travelled to Cape Town to play Western Province at Newlands Stadium – one of the world’s most recognisable test rugby arenas. It was amazing to play in a ground of that magnitude and it’s an experience that I’ll always take with me.”

The young Sale Sharks academy prospect is beginning to make a name for himself as a complete utility back. As Talking Rugby Union highlighted about him before he left for the Bulldogs, he has featured in almost every position in the back line.

Although Mike is favoured by his club at fullback he was almost instantly thrown into the 10 jersey on his arrival in South Africa.

Mike admitted that “it was very tough at first playing fly half. I was much more used to making lines and running onto balls rather than having to create the gaps for other people.

“I enjoyed the challenge of playing in a completely new position, but I think I’ll be much happier moving back to fullback from now on.

After being sent to the Border Bulldogs by one of English rugby’s elite clubs, it is interesting to hear that the team was so unsuccessful in the 2013 Currie Cup campaign.

Mike told Talking Rugby Union that “it was entirely Sale’s decision to send me over there. They have a strong connection with the Bulldogs, having sent academy players over there previously; Sale wanted us to get great experience playing against the country’s top sides.

“As I said, the sides we faced were awesome, so any team would have struggled to get wins out there; but, we didn’t help ourselves; we didn’t ever really stick to a set structure.

“I’ve never played in an environment with so many different calls. I’d never seen anything like it, they had calls for absolutely every different facet of play.

“In a lot of ways this was our downfall. We struggled to stick to such a regimented structure, with players finding it hard to actually react and play what is in front of them.

“Also, we were a really mental side. What I mean is, unless we were totally, one hundred per cent, focused on the job in hand we never did too well. I remember one week we lost 62-0 to Western Force at Newlands Stadium, but then the week later we were much more focused and only just lost 19-3 to the Golden Lions – one of the best teams out there – in a much closer game than the score line suggests.”
However, apart from the matches played in South Africa, Talking Rugby Union wanted to get an insight into Mike’s day to day experiences in the Southern Hemisphere.

“Well there was lots of training” Haley first noted. “It was a lot different to what I was used to with Sale. The whole training schedule was centred on rugby skills and then cross-fit training. All of the gym work was conditioning, there was no real weights at all.

“I think Sale sent me out there hoping I would improve the physicality of my game by putting on a bit of weight and size; but, in fact, it was the complete opposite that actually happened – I lost weight.

“It was only a few kilograms, but yeah, I lost weight. We were constantly doing conditioning training rather than power and strength training. Also, I have to admit, the food wasn’t great, so that didn’t help.

“We would work really hard in training, burn a lot of calories, but we never really got enough food to replace that. Meals could be cold mince beef and baked beans – not good!”

Throughout Mike’s stay with the Border Bulldogs, he was training solidly every week; however, he did explain how the squad were given a week off to explore the country.

“It was a brilliant week,” Mike recalled. “We drove down to Port Elizabeth and I really got a chance to admire such a great country; relax and enjoy plenty of activities, with the highlight being bungee jumping.”

After returning from the trip just under two weeks ago, Mike is already back into the swing of things at Sale Sharks, training almost non-stop since he returned home.

When asked about his ambitions for the coming season with Sale Sharks, Mike maintained that he “would love to have a few more starts for the first team under my belt. I really just want to progress from where I was last year.”

Mike made his Sharks first team debut in the LV Cup semi-final against Saracens when Australian fullback Cameron Shepherd was injured in the warm-up, and Premiership debut at Franklins Gardens against Northampton.

Most recently, Mike starred in Sale Jets’ Aviva A-League game at Heywood Road on Monday night where they welcomed Gloucester to the North West. The game was a tense and scrappy affair, with neither side dominating the game. However, it was a last minute try in the corner from Mike, wearing the no. 15 jersey, which brought Sale back into the game; a point behind with the conversion to come. Scrum half Nathan Fowles remained calm, dissected the uprights with a difficult kick, and won the game for the Jets.

Mike will be looking to continue his promising rise through the Sale ranks and impressive on-field form throughout the season. His next fixture for the Sale Jets is in two weeks, away against the Worcester Cavaliers.