Did you hear about the inter-county player who taught John Terry to hurl?
If Chelsea captain John Terry doesn’t get the contract extension he is hoping for from the London club, then an alternative career in hurling could await him.
That’s according to Limerick’s Cian Lynch, who believes the former England star is a “pure natural” when it comes to the clash of the ash.
In a recent interview Lynch, a rising star of hurling, described meeting Terry while on a family holiday when he was 12.
Naturally Cian and his brother had brought hurleys with them on their trip.
“We were pucking around beside the swimming pool,” Terry told Gaa.ie. “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.”
It turned out the Premier League defender had seen hurling played previously in England and was keen to properly understand the game.
“He was mad to know what the rules were and how to play it,” Lynch explained.
“He picked up the hurley as casual as you like, pure down to earth, and belted away with us for around an hour.”
Lynch and his brother explained the structure to Terry in terms they thought he would understand.
“We explained to him how the game works with county teams and club teams,” Lynch said.
“We told him playing for Patrickswell was like playing for Chelsea and then playing for Limerick was like playing for England.”
Lynch believes Terry, who plays as a centre back with Chelsea, would make a “natural full-back” on the hurling field.
Surely somewhere there’s a GAA club willing to take a punt on the hardy Londoner?
Limerick get their Division 1B Allianz Hurling League campaign underway against Wexford at the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday night.
You can read the full interview at Gaa.ie.
