Growing up, many of us have dreamed about playing for our local club, running out in front of family and friends, and wearing those colours with pride.
For Glasgow’s Duncan Weir, it started off as a kid running on at half-time with the minis, but before he knew it, he was rubbing shoulders with some of the best players in the world.
From an early age, he was obsessed with kicking and idolised two of the greatest to ever do it on a rugby pitch.
“Being a stand-off and a being absolutely obsessed with kicking and kicking at goal – I loved Johnny Wilkinson and Dan Carter growing up,” Weirs says.
“The way they kicked the ball, it looked like it was on a piece of string for them. I was pretty obsessed with them two.
“Later down the track, it was pretty cool playing against those two guys.
“It was quite surreal, I spent more time watching them in the warm-up than concentrating on myself!”
Born and raised in Glasgow, Weir worked his way up through the ranks before breaking into the professional game at just 19 following the departure of Dan Parks.
So what was it like getting to represent the team he supported as a kid?
“It was pretty cool, I remember being a little mini at during the half-time entertainment at the Warriors games,” he says.
“From there, you get a little snippet at U16 representing the Glasgow district and you’re just so focused then to give rugby your full attention and give it your best chance to go pro.
“I was really lucky that Dan Parks moved on when he did and it left an opportunity for me to come in at the club and I managed to come in at 19 and hit the ground running.
“You probably don’t see that so much now with the bigger academy infrastructure in clubs, but I was really fortunate that window of opportunity came and I managed to grasp it.”
Coming into a professional set-up at 19 is daunting. Coming in at 19 in such a pivotal position as fly-half is as tough as gets. But Weir flipped it and turned pressure into inspiration.
“It was a surreal experience [playing for Glasgow] after being a fan for so long and going to games and watching,” he continues.
“From a kid playing at half-time, then going up the age grade ranks. It’s a pretty special feeling.
“That burden maybe weighed you down at times, as you can probably imagine, but it also gives you so much inspiration, and it’s a special feeling as well.
“It was also a huge learning curve for me.
“When you first come in you’re kind of naïve to a lot of things. You just went out and played the game. You wanted to make sure you have done yourself proud but you also had a wee chip on your shoulder because you wanted to ‘earn your stripes’ and make sure you can make the cut at that level.
“Once you’re established then you kind of lose that but it’s now come full circle and I’ve kind of tapped into that after being at Worcester. You kind of feel like you have to get that respect back from the Glaswegians again.
“It’s a big burden that you put on yourself but it’s one that you cherish.”
The 32-year-old has plenty miles still left in the tank before he eventually calls it a day, but if he could go back now, what would he tell that 19-year-old kid who was just breaking into those Glasgow ranks?
“Maybe just cherish the journey,” he adds.
“It might sound like something that’s a bit strange but I had a pretty good mentality when I was young – I wanted to make it so bad, doing everything I can.
“Cherish the highs a little bit more and the achievements. I was more focused on what’s next.
“Just really enjoy the journey while having the right mentality and the drive to succeed.
“Make sure you check it back in and enjoy the good days because they’re the ones you work so hard for. Make sure you savour those ones.”
In Round 16 (May 10 & 11) the URC will activate ‘Kids Round’ with the overall goal of championing the next generation of sports fans, providing the opportunity for involvement across the match day and event participating in key roles.
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Sport Trivia: Who was the first SA cricketer to take a hat trick in Test cricket? Answer: Geoff Griffin in the second test match against England at Lords in June 1960 — he dismissed Mike Smith, caught by the wicket-keeper, then bowled Peter Walker and Freddy Trueman. England went on to win the game by an innings and 73 runs. He never played another test match after that, due to his continually being called no-ball for alleged throwing.
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Cricket became an Olympic sport in 1896. However, no matches were held because there was an insufficient number of teams who attended. Had the sport been played that year, cricket would have earned the distinction of being the only team sport to be played at the time. The first Olympic match in the next Olympics (1900) was participated in by the men’s teams. Great Britain (represented by the Devon and Somerset Wanderers) won gold.