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Social media tends to be a minefield littered with questionable pieces of advice that could come back to bite you if you don’t do your research. I’m not sure if there are many people who would drink toilet water to help with muscle recovery because a rugby player told them to, but one team in Australia had to advise people not to follow the lead of someone who filmed himself doing exactly that to prank his followers.
Rugby is one of the many contact sports that are not for the faint of heart, and anyone who plays it for a living needs to have not only the physical talents required to hold their own on the pitch but a degree of mental toughness required to deal with the kind of abuse they’re going to encounter.
There are certainly plenty of rugby players who are what most people would consider “well-balanced” individuals, but as is the case with pastimes like football, boxing, and mixed martial arts, it also attracts plenty of slightly unhinged competitors who seemingly take pleasure in inflicting and sustaining pain.
When you combine that predisposition with the brain trauma that comes with regularly absorbing bone-rattling hits, there are going to be some players who end up turning heads with strange behavior, and a rugby team in Australia needed to do some damage control after one of their stars shared a clip of himself drinking from a toilet while advising others to do the same.
The Brisbane Broncos told people not to drink toilet water after fullback Reece Walsh filmed himself doing exactly that as a prank
I’m going to assume most people reading this are not diehard fans of the Brisbane Broncos or any of the other sixteen teams that comprise Australia’s National Rugby League. If that’s the case, you’re probably also not intimately familiar with Reece Walsh, the 23-year-old fullback who led that squad in tries last season.
The Broncos are currently in fourth place in the NRL standings and have clinched a spot in the postseason after a disappointing 12th-place finish last year, and Walsh has continued to play a key role in their defensive and offensive strategy.
He landed in hot water earlier this year after a video of him punching a (willing) friend in the face made the rounds online, and on Monday, he ended up in a similar situation by posting a clip of himself drinking toilet water on TikTok while framing that particular liquid as “a new form of recovery to recover the muscles.”
@7newsaustralia Broncos star Reece Walsh has recorded himself drinking handfuls of water from a toilet bowl. The Broncos have confirmed it was an attempt at a joke, with the toilet having only recently been installed at Walsh’s home and hadn’t yet been used. #ReeceWalsh #Broncos #Toilet #NRL #Sport
It should go without saying that there is nothing in toilet water that is conducive to muscle recovery and a bunch of stuff that does have the potential to make you seriously ill. According to 7News, the Broncos echoed that sentiment in a statement where they clarified Walsh had decided to have some fun after installing a toilet that had not yet been harnessed for its intended purpose in his house, saying:
“Brisbane Broncos are aware of a video posted by Reece Walsh on a social media platform.
The club can clarify that Walsh is currently renovating his home and has installed a brand-new toilet in a new bathroom which remains unused.
“The video represents a poor attempt at humour posted privately by Walsh. No one should take this video seriously or act upon the advice.”
I would argue that describing that video as a “poor attempt at humour” is an unfair assessment of the situation, as I have to respect anyone who has the wherewithal to drink out of a toilet before it’s been christened for the sake of a bit. However, I’m glad the team clarified that was the case.