US media dubs Jarryd Hayne the ‘Say Hayne Kid’

FORGET the “Hayne Plane” and “Hayne Train”, the US media have come up with their own nickname for Aussie star Jarryd Hayne.

Dallas Cowboys v San Francisco 49ers

FORGET the “Hayne Plane” and “Hayne Train”, the US media have come up with their own nickname for Aussie star Jarryd Hayne.

Matt Barrows, who covers the 49ers for the Sacramento Bee, dubbed the Australian rugby league convert “The Say Hayne Kid” after he made a brilliant over-the-shoulder catch on his first return in the 49ers’ 23-6 preseason win against the Cowboys on Monday.

My nickname "The Say Hayne Kid" is killing in the press box. Only a matter of time before it takes off in Australia, Oceania, etc.

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) August 24, 2015

So what does it mean? The most famous over-the-shoulder catch in American sports history was taken by baseballer Willie Mays in the 1954 World Series.

Playing in centre field for the New York Giants (who later became the San Francisco Giants), Mays miraculously caught a ball that was hit over his head to help the Giants win the game.

Baseball fans will have already made the connection, but if you’re unfamiliar, Mays’ nickname was “The Say Hey Kid”. It’s an obscure link — especially for Australians — but if it sticks Hayne can take pleasure in being connected to one of San Francisco’s most revered athletes.

The former Parramatta Eel gave a detailed explanation of exactly what happened on the play — and why he was out of position — in his post-game press conference.

He said he took the field in a slightly panicked state after a fogged up helmet left him unable to see through his visor. “When I was getting out there I put my helmet on and I must have smudged the screen. I was like ‘I need to wipe it, I can’t see’,” Hayne said.

He ran to the sidelines to find a towel and had teammates yelling at him “where are you? get on the field”.

Jarryd Hayne looks to make a move on a Cowboys opponent while returning a punt.

After taking his position, Hayne measured where he would need to stand to catch the punt like teammate Reggie Bush has been showing him at practice. But Cowboys punter Chris Jones kicked the ball further than he expected and left him scrambling.

“My head was everywhere and then as soon as the ball went up I lost it straight away,” Hayne said. “As a punt returner you need to get the read as early as you can and I’ve lost the ball, I couldn’t even see it.

“By the height and the way it was rotating I knew it was long and I thought to myself ‘that’s gone a long way’. So I turned back and took off and was just trying to get the read on the way down and literally just put my hands out and hoped it landed in my hands. I actually thought it was going to roll off backwards just because of how much ground I had to cover.

“As soon as I turned (to ran back up field) I just had to do my best. Obviously what we had planned (schematically) was out the window because we didn’t expect him to kick it that far.”

Jarryd Hayne with a remarkable over-the-shoulder catch of punt and a 27-yard return. The guy is going to be on this team.

— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) August 24, 2015

Hayne took the ball back 27 yards, one of three long returns in what was an almost perfect performance. But there was one moment he couldn’t live down after the game — getting tackled by the opposition punter on one return.

It’s considered slightly embarrassing for a return player to be stopped by a punter because they’re generally less athletic and not as strong as most other players. “As soon as I came off the boys were into me and said I had to pay a fine and what not,” Hayne laughed. “I actually saw a replay and he grabbed my jersey, so I’ll tighten the jersey up a little bit and it will all be sweet.”