WATCH: Former USA hooker BUSTED feeding an opponent grass at the bottom of a ruck
Yes, you read that right! Former USA hooker James Hilterbrand has been busted force-feeding an opponent grass at the bottom of a ruck.
During a Shute Shield match between Manly Marlins and Eastwood, Hilterbrand was spotted feeding some turf to his opponent Ratu Tuisese at the bottom of a ruck.
“It’s just a little bit of garnish”
Dubbed a ‘serial pest’, Hilterbrand is a well-known figure in Sydney; he represented the USA on 24 occasions after qualifying on ancestry.
Speaking on Stan Sport’s Clubland, Hilterbrand had Wallabies legend Tim Horan and host Andrew Swain in fits of laughter when discussing the incident.
‘At the bottom of the ruck here, you picking grass out of TG Milner and feeding it to him!’ Swain chuckled.
The Australian-born and raised hooker responded, saying: “It’s just a little bit of garnish at the bottom of the ruck!”
“The turf there is pretty nice, it’s actually pretty comfortable to get tackled on.”
Swain added: “You’ve got a bit of a history with these things. I’ve seen you undo people’s shoelaces and headgear; when did that come to you (the idea to feed Tuisese grass)? Was it a spur-of-the-moment thing?”
“No, I have a few mentors who are responsible for my antics; Dave Boylan and Damien Cummins [teammates] are two of the top,” he explained before adding that he still has a few tricks up his sleeve.
“We’ve set little goals for what we want to achieve by the end of our careers. None of us, though, have managed to be able to tie the shoelaces together. Obviously, I’ve untied them but couldn’t quite get there.”
The panel explores some comical antics from the Shute Shield turf this week on ClubLand 😂
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— Stan Sport Rugby (@StanSportRugby) April 13, 2023
More antics to come
In another interview with Yahoo Sports Australia, the former USA hooker revealed some of the other tricks he hopes to get right before he retires.
“My list of party tricks is endless. There’s a few I want to do before my career is over,” he said.
“When someone’s boot comes off, most players just throw it away. I want to steal it or wear it next time it happens.
“I’d also love to get someone’s mouthguard and wear it or pull a big boofy prop’s jersey right off. There’s also been talking of doing a Piggy Riddell and jumping the fence to applaud myself after scoring a try.
“The only problem is I don’t score too many so I may have to pretend after we score from a rolling maul.
“I could also substitute a football for a household item and attempt to throw that in at a lineout. But I want to keep an element of surprise… I can’t plan or predict when things might happen.”
Hilterbrand also confirmed that Tuisese responded well to his antics and laughed about it.