Two decades on, the man who has sparred with Joe Calzaghe and beaten eye cancer is in charge of one of the meanest defences in the Guinness PRO14 and is tipped by many to become a member of the Wales coaching staff in the future.
There was a time not so long ago when the Scarlets would crumble when put under any pressure but under Hayward’s guidance, they have a tackle success rate of 87 per cent. Most of the plaudits for the men from Llanelli’s stunning PRO12 title success last season and the run to this term’s Champions Cup semi-finals has gone to head coach Wayne Pivac and his attack guru Stephen Jones.
Rightly so, but Hayward’s role can’t be underestimated. “I used to spar with Joe at Newbridge gym, but unfortunately I never got the better of him,” Hayward said.
“He’s undoubtedly one of the best British boxers there has ever been and I learnt a lot from him and his dad in terms of discipline, fitness and developing that mental toughness.
“There are a lot of transfers from boxing to defence in rugby. When you are in the trenches in the last 10 minutes of a game and you need to make your tackles, it is very similar to when you are in the ring and someone wants to knock your head off.
“I try and ingrain that mental toughness from boxing and that resilience to never give up into my players.”
In his younger days, former Ebbw Vale, Llanelli and Wales back Hayward had a passion for boxing and was even trained by Calzaghe’s father Enzo.
Since the end of his playing days, he has gone on to establish himself as a fine coach, working with Wales at Under-20 level before moving on to the Scarlets. So, how has he turned the men from Llanelli from a side who would fold under pressure to one of the most resilient sides in European rugby?
“Wayne and I started at more or less the same time and the biggest thing we felt we had to change at the Scarlets was the defence and also the attitude and the mindset towards defence,” said Hayward.
“You have to grow a strong culture. You can see what a culture is like when you see teams play and look at what they do without the ball. Defence is such an important part of the game and that’s gone a long way.
“In year one Wayne gave me so much time and backed me to make those changes. Personnel wise we had to make sure everybody understood our system and bought into our defensive philosophy.
“We went through a lot of tough times, but we’ve made some big strides forward.”
