Footy Thong

I've mentioned "dance belts" before (1, 2).  They are padded thongs which ballet dancers wear to keep their junk from being squashed during vigorous jumps and leaps.  This rare image shows a footy great James Hird (I think! correct me if I'm wrong**) wrestling with one of his teammates in a practice session.   His sparring partner is wearing a ballet dance belt underneath his Adidas shorts.  He obviously considered the inner brief of the running shorts insufficient protection.  As it happens, my first ballet teacher was also a sports physiotherapist and used to teach the Western Province rugby team elementary ballet steps and stretches to reduce injuries on the playing field.  I wonder how those macho blokes took to doing pliés and battements tendus!

Nice bods, both of them.  Notice the absence of muffin tops. 

**I am!  Belle in a comment (below) has reminded me that it's not James Hird but Nathan Buckley. Duh. Thank you, Belle.  I'll post some pics of the very pretty James Hird soonish.