Eight years ago, Cian Lynch was 12 and John Terry a far less creaky 27.
The Limerick hurler was on holiday with his family in Dubai. Given the array of skills displayed by Lynch on the pitch, it's no surprise to learn that the pre-teen Patrickswell player, along with his brother Kevlin, had brought their hurleys with them.
Poolside, having a puck around, John Terry sauntered up to join in.
Lynch reminisced about the moment for an interview with the GAA's website.
We were pucking around beside the swimming pool, casual as you like. We saw John Terry approach us and we got a shock, as you would – John Terry, we thought we were dreaming!
He came over and started pucking around with us, a pure natural, like a lad who was playing tennis or golf the whole time. We were in awe of him.
Terry didn't just stick around for a few minutes, he spent an hour with the brothers.
He said he thought he had seen it before in London and was mad to know what the rules were and how to play it.
He picked up the hurley as casual as you like, pure down to earth, and belted away with us for around an hour.
He was examining the hurley very closely and looking at the sliotar, the same as anyone would if they came across a sport they didn’t know anything about.
There's nothing Limerick fans love more than to sing 'Ooohh Richie McCarthy' from the terrace. If McCarthy were to go down one day, Terry - and he is out of contract this summer - could do a job at fullback according to Lynch.
We explained to him how the game works with county teams and club teams. We told him playing for Patrickswell was like playing for Chelsea and then playing for Limerick was like playing for England.
He was good, a natural full-back I’d say by the look of him, but don’t tell that to Richie McCarthy. He was very good, though he had that tennis or golf swing that fellas have when they are not used to it.
It was an experience we will never forget. We got a photo but I don’t know where it’s gone to now.
Picture credit: Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE
