1. Rugby gloves were a thing.
And you absolutely had to have them.
2. Dublin private schools played soggy biscuit, schools from outside of Dublin shagged sheep.
This was a commonly known fact.
3. Being a pillar in a ruck was a great way to keep busy.
4. Non-lifting lineouts were a complete lottery.
Unless you had that kid who was six foot tall at 14.
5. "Cup Nights" were the highlight of the school year.
The no-drinking pledge was out the window.
6. When Setanta started showing the matches, try scorers suddenly saw themselves as national celebrities.
7. Creatine farts.
You were either the culprit or the victim. Sometimes both.
8. Flexing in the squad photo was absolutely essential.
9. Every team had a center with blonde tipped highlights.
10. Senior Cup tracksuits were the slickest thing on Earth.
11. The pre-match hype playlist.
'Till I Collapse by Eminem being a permanent resident.
12. Wearing your numbered cup jersey to a JCT game or as a past pupil so everybody knew you were on the team once.
You legend.
13. "First hit lads! First hit!"
The rallying cry of pack leaders everywhere. Where the match was won or lost.
14. When a fight broke out, you stopped what you were doing and headed directly for it.
On the opposite wing? Doesn't matter.
15. Choking on the smell of Deep Heat.
16. Every single word to the Any Given Sunday speech.
"On this team we tear ourselves, and everyone else around us, APART, for that inch!"
17. The warm-up lap of the pitch was a contest to see who could trip the most people up.
18. Shouting "Up! Up! Up! Up! Up!" after every kickoff.
Everybody up as a line!
19. Hill runs.
20. Every team had someone who took a scissors to their long sleeves.
As was the style at the time.
21. O'Neills socks simply refusing to stay up.
22. "Lads, does anyone have tape?"
See #21.
23. That one lad who always ran sideways and backwards.
24. The excruciating pain of the ball hitting the top of your finger.
You may aswell just sever my hand, it's useless now.
25. That feeling in the pit of your stomach as you are being dump-tackled.
Going up...
26. Utterly ridiculous line-out calls.
QDC 17 Spider 2 Y Banana = Up at the front.
27.Knee, Hip, Shoulder. The CORRECT way to fall after being tackled.
Because you had a choice apparently.
28. Eagerly anticipating the away trip to that school that had a tuck-shop.
Kings Hospital in Palmerstown, we loved you for this.
29. Spending countless hours practicing back-line moves that were never, EVER, used in a game.
30. The overwhelming smell of Lynx Africa.
31. The step up from using size 4 rugby balls to size 5.
You're rolling with the big dawgs now.
32. A protein shaker meant you looked after your body and a Leinster trial was inevitable.
33. The pre-match huddle speech was 98% swearing.
2% "Lads"/"Boys"
34. The guy who showed up to training wearing every type of thermal that money could buy.
35. Having to hold the ball still for kicks and praying not to be kicked in the face.
36. The comments that came with wearing a pair of new boots to training.
"Did you get a new pair of high-heels while you were at it?"
37. Using a cone as a kicking tee.
And never being able to find one when it was time for a conversion.
38. So... Many... Offloads...
Photo credit: Sportsfile.
