Mike Haley Set For 100th Munster Appearance

Tonight’s URC Round 12 clash with Ospreys in Swansea will see Mike Haley make his 100th start and 100th appearance for Munster after joining the province ahead of the 2018/19 season.

Mike made his Munster debut against the Cheetahs in Thomond Park in September 2018 as a 24-year-old after signing from the Sale Sharks in England where he made 100 appearances for the English side.

In fact, Mike’s European debut for Sale came against Munster at the AJ Bell Stadium in 2014.

An impressive debut season at Munster saw Haley play more minutes than any other player with the full-back racking up 1,876 minutes in 26 starts.

His form in that debut season was rewarded when Mike made his Ireland debut against Italy in August 2019 as part of preparations ahead of the Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Haley made 15 starts at full-back for Munster in the 2019/20 season but missed the business end of the campaign due to injury.

He then returned to action in the opening game of the 2020/21 season and made his 50th Munster appearance against Leinster in January 2021.

Haley topped the charts for minutes on the pitch in the 2020/21 campaign, playing a total of 1,468 minutes in his 19 starts.

He improved on that record in 2021/22, playing 1,477 minutes in 19 starts and signed a two-year contract extension at the start of the 2022/23 campaign.

The fullback made 18 starts in the 2022/23 season as Munster won the URC title.

Haley missed the first half of this season but made his return against Scarlets in February before lining out in the friendly against Harlequins and most recently, scored a try against Zebre in a Player of the Match performance earlier this month.