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| Full name | Carl Joseph Hayman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1979-11-14)14 November 1979 (age 45) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Ōpunake, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 120 kg (265 lb; 18 st 13 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | King's High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Carl Joseph Hayman (born 14 November 1979) is a retired New Zealandrugby union footballer who played at tightheadprop. Hayman has previously played for theHighlanders inSuper Rugby,Otago in theNPC, andNewcastle Falcons in theEnglish Premiership, as well as making 45 appearances forNew Zealand at international level. Hayman announced his retirement from professional rugby in January 2015, aged 35. Post retirement Hayman has been diagnosed with early-onsetdementia and probablechronic traumatic encephalopathy.[1][2]
He became the 1000thAll Black when he made his debut againstSamoa in 2001. Since then he established himself as one of the elite props in world rugby.[citation needed] In 2005, Hayman played for theNew Zealand Māori, againstFiji inSuva and against theBritish & Irish Lions atHamilton. In 2006 he was shortlisted as one of 5 candidates for New Zealand Player of the Year.[citation needed] On 19 April 2007 it was announced that Hayman had signed a three-year contract withPremiership Rugby sideNewcastle Falcons, turning down an offer from league championsSale Sharks to do so.
A club source said of the signing "every top club in Europe has been chasing him, but he’s chosen to come to Newcastle and we’re delighted he has made that decision".[3][4] Hayman is strong enough to box squat 250 kg (550 lb).
Hayman led the haka leader in 7 tests in 2006-2007. At least 5 times he led theKa Mate version of the haka as well as 2 times the newerKapa o Pango haka.[citation needed]
On 22 March 2010, it was announced that Hayman would join French clubToulon at the end of the season. He became one of a number of high-profile players that signed for Toulon alongsideJonny Wilkinson,Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe,Felipe Contepomi andJoe Van Niekerk.The decision to stay in Europe made him ineligible for the2011 Rugby World Cup due to theNew Zealand Rugby Union's policy of only selecting players who have played in the New Zealand domestic competition.
In 2010, he was selected in theBarbarians squad to playTonga on 26 November. In May 2013 he started asToulon won the2013 Heineken Cup Final by 16–15 againstClermont Auvergne.[5]
On 6 January 2015, Hayman announced his retirement from professional rugby at the end of the 2014–15Top 14 season.[6]
Hayman was diagnosed with dementia in July 2021.[7] He cites his rugby career as being the leading cause to this condition, tellingRNZ that he approximated he had "endured tens of thousands of minor concussions, not including years of training sessions" and that "it's the repetition of knocks to the head – not so much big concussions – that have done the damage here". Hayman has said that he was in denial about his diagnosis, and that he turned toalcohol in order to cope.[8]
Hayman has joined a group of over 150 former sportspersons to lodge a class-action lawsuit against rugby and soccer governing bodies, alleging that the bodies had failed to protect players from early onset neurological conditions caused by sports related injuries.[9] The bodies in question includedWorld Rugby,Rugby Football Union, and theWelsh Rugby Union. The suit issued a number of claims, including claims that the governing bodies failed to educate players about the risk of brain damage and maintain the 21-day stand down period after concussions, and that their assessments during a match (assessments which the lawyers argued were five to ten minutes in duration) were inadequate. Other players involved in the lawsuit include former English rugby union playerSteve Thompson, and former Wales playerAlix Popham - both of whom have also been diagnosed with early onset dementia.[10]
In August 2024 Hayman pleaded guilty to three charges of posting an intimate visual recording without consent.[11] He was sentenced to 18 months supervision and ordered to pay reparations.[12][13]
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| Preceded by | Tom French Memorial Māori rugby union player of the year 2004 2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Rico Gear | Succeeded by | |