Forget a warm welcome: joining a new team often involves heavy drinking, spanking and a live chicken...
1. 21 drinks...
In 2011, Chris Ashton revealed it was a tradition that every player making their international debut for England takes part in the challenge.
The winger revealed he had been forced to undergo an initiation ceremony into the England team during which he had to sink 21 alcoholic drinks in just a few hours.
He told how all new players have to take one drink with each of the 21 other players in the listed squad.
2. Bottle up the...
A young rugby player suffered internal injuries after a beer bottle got stuck up his backside during a vile initiation ritual.
The victim was forced to run up and down the team bus with the unopened bottle in place and was later rushed to the hospital.
Scottish Rugby later imposed sanctions on 14 players and two officials for the incident.
3. Springbok spanking...
In 2000, a Springbok initiation rite has upset some black players during South Africa's tour of Argentina, a South African newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The Cape Argus reported black players in the 40-strong squad had objected to a ceremony which involved being beaten on the backside by teammates at their hotel in Buenos Aires.
4. Head shaved...
It’s the moment that every new Gloucester player dreads.
After a tough pre-season training session in the heat, it was time for the players to be officially welcomed to the squad by taking on the milk challenge.
The initiation ceremony has become a Gloucester tradition with players given the task of drinking eight pints of milk in 20 minutes.
If they fail - and it usually ends with a lot of throwing up – then they get their heads shaved.
5. Feet up Northumbria
A rugby union night turned foul when new recruits were forced to go through a number of humiliating rituals.
As well as dropping their trousers and being made to do press ups, Northumbria University freshers also to suspend their feet up in the air until they finished their drinks.
6. Nude rugby with a live chicken
David Elstone from the HMC committee was one of the voices calling an end to ritual, arguing that someone ‘is going to get seriously ill and worse’.
In his argument against initiations, he referred to a shocking story from Edinburgh University where students played a naked game using a live chicken as the ball.
As The Telegraph reports: ‘He said one of his former pupils had given up playing rugby after he refused to play a game naked in Edinburgh city centre at midnight with a live chicken as the ball.’ It was organised by the University’s rugby club.
7. Sick...
According to a report in The Times, Loughborough University students were challenged to drink four litres of cider and then the participants were all then sick in a bucket. The last to finish had the vomit thrown at him.
8. Give us a tune
Singing is a common initiation in 2018 but Initiation songs after Ireland debuts are a long-held tradition.
When Joey Carbery made his Ireland debut, and beat New Zealand, he stood in front of the squad and sang the Friends theme tune 'I'll be There For You'.
For Robbie Henshaw it was 'Galway Girl' while Jordi Murphy belted out 'Teenage Dirtbag'.
8. Public push-ups in mankinis and maid outfits
Warwick is known for being studious and keeping their head down, but in December last year the streets were alight with the rugby team’s very public initiation ceremony.
But as a reward for their skimpy pushups, the Students’ Union didn’t see the funny side, handing the bold rugby team what they called “a suspended sentence”.
9. #PigGate
It's been suggested that David Cameron once ‘put a private part of his anatomy in a dead pig’s mouth’ as part of an initiation ceremony when he was studying at Oxford University.
A rugby captain who wished to remain anonymous told The Tab that a similar thing happens with the rugby team: “The guys play rugby naked with a pig head and someone wore a squid as a hat for the night.
“The smell was repulsive – but the rugby was hilarious.
“The head stayed in tact as there was no kicking, just big carries.
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