Jarryd Lee Hayne (born 1988) is an Australian semi-professional rugby league footballer who plays for Wentworthville Magpies in the Ron Massey Cup.

The following year, he made his debut for New South Wales in State of Origin and Australia internationally, and began playing primarily as a fullback.

Hayne attracted significant attention when he made the switch from one of the NRL's top players to a rookie with the San Francisco 49ers in the 2015 NFL season.

In 2016, he represented Fiji 7s in rugby union sevens, but after not being selected for the 2016 Olympic squad, he returned to the NRL with the Gold Coast Titans before a final season with Parramatta in 2018.

His father played professional rugby league for South Sydney, Western Suburbs and the Auckland Warriors while also representing Fiji.

[citation needed] Hayne made his NRL debut with the Parramatta Eels at 18 years of age on 19 May 2006 against the Penrith Panthers at CUA Stadium.

His return to form at fullback prompted Dean Ritchie of Daily Telegraph to call Hayne "the most gifted Parramatta player since the great Brett Kenny.

Hayne's performance for the Parramatta Eels in the 2009 grand final against the Melbourne Storm was largely viewed in Australian and New Zealand media as disappointing.

Journalist Josh Massoud, writing for The Daily Telegraph wrote, "For reasons only known to the god he recently discovered, Eels superstar Hayne failed to contest the ball."

This earned him a call up for New South Wales in the first game of the 2013 Origin Series at his preferred position of fullback after incumbent Brett Stewart was injured.

In 2014 Hayne started the season with his most consistent display of rugby league, leading the Dally M medal rankings after 10 Rounds.

He produced a man of the match performance, setting up one try and scoring one to deliver New South Wales a 12–8 win in Brisbane and a 1–0 series lead.

[24] On 2 August 2016, after his time in American football and rugby sevens, it was announced that Hayne would be returning to the NRL, signing a two-year contract with the Gold Coast Titans.

In the 2017 NRL season, Hayne was involved in a long running player-coach feud with Gold Coast coach Neil Henry.

Premiership-winning coaches Phil Gould, Craig Bellamy, Trent Robinson and Ricky Stuart were also part of the panel along with Hall of Famers Peter Sterling, Darren Lockyer, Danny Buderus and Laurie Daley.

[41] Hayne made his representative rugby league debut for the Australian Prime Minister's XIII on 30 September 2006 against Papua New Guinea at Lloyd Robson Oval in Port Moresby.

Hayne was moved to his preferred position of fullback for Game I of the 2013 State of Origin series and scored a try during New South Wales' 14–6 victory.

Just before half time, Hayne had the chance to put winger Brett Morris over for a try in the corner to make it 20-6 but decided to attempt the try himself but was tackled short of the goal line.

[47][48][49] Despite having already represented Australia, Hayne was selected to play for his father's native Fiji in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.

[citation needed] Hayne was named at centre by Australian coach Tim Sheens for the Kangaroos' squad for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, which was held in England, France, Wales and Ireland.

Hayne's world cup campaign was hailed by his Kangaroos teammates, Brett Morris declaring that "If there was a Harlem Globetrotters of rugby league, he'd be in it.

[56] Greater Western Sydney Giants CEO Dave Matthews later confirmed the club did approach Hayne about a code switch in 2009.

However, his failure to complete 12th grade and receive his High School Certificate (HSC) meant Hayne was ineligible to play college football in the United States.

[58] In 2013, he organised two American football training sessions with college team UTS between the 2013 NRL season and the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.

Again, in one of Hayne's first touches of the game, he pulled off a huge play, this time off a punt return, catching the ball over his shoulders and running for a 27-yard gain.

On 5 September 2015, Hayne made the 53-man final roster by surviving the last day of cuts before the start of the regular season, capping a swift transition to his new sport.

[77] Hayne announced his retirement from the NFL on 15 May 2016, and joined the Fiji sevens team in hopes of playing in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

[78] He later explained that he retired due to not wanting to learn a new playbook, as the 49ers had hired Chip Kelly to be their new head coach for the 2016 season.

[85] On 19 November 2018, Hayne was charged with aggravated sexual assault and inflicting actual bodily harm for an alleged incident that took place in the Newcastle region on 30 September 2018.

[104][105] In 2016, after returning to Australia following his brief career in the American National Football League (NFL), Hayne met Amellia Bonnici.