Long before he became Tottenham's unrivalled fox in the box, on the golf course Harry Kane was mean on the greens.
On Sunday mornings, Kane and George Moncur would convene a four-ball on the leafy fringes where north-east London's suburbs meet the Essex commuter belt. If the England captain's short game came unstuck from 12 yards in Qatar two months ago, as a rising star he used to make nasty five-footers look like bread and putter.
In the boot room at Leyton Orient's Chigwell training ground, barely a goal-kick from the M11, Moncur recalled his weekend rivalry with Kane on the fairways.
“We used to play every Sunday – me and my brother against Harry and my dad – in a Ryder Cup format at Woolston Manor," he said.
“I can't remember who came out on top more often, but his swing was a bit uneasy on the eye – although he was a good striker of the ball – and he was pretty handy around the greens. His handicap was only five or six back then, and I think it's even lower now.
“I don't speak to him as much as I used to because I've moved clubs a few times and he's stayed put, but we're still in touch and of course I'm chuffed for him that he broke the Spurs goalscoring record the other day. He's turned into a phenomenal player.”
Kane has maintained his connection with Orient by sponsoring their shirts, most recently through his nominated mental health charity, Shout, in a deal worth £125,000-a-year to the club over the last three seasons.
Meanwhile Moncur, 29, has been a driving force behind the Os League Two promotion charge, with the circus pitching its big top at Walsall this weekend.
Frisky and neat on the ball – like his dad John, a midfield stalwart at West Ham, Swindon and Spurs back in the day – Moncur said: “We're technically a good side and I think a lot of our players could play at a higher level.
“My old man is still my best critic – obviously I love him because he's my dad, but I also respect the way he looks at the game and he picks up on little things about my performances which help me to stay level and not get above my station.
“Only this morning he rang me up with a little nugget of advice about my movement. He thinks of something, lets me know and leaves me to deal with it.”
For the last nine years, Moncur has played with a tattoo on his arm to commemorate tragic pal Dylan Tombides, an Australian striker who died aged 20 from testicular cancer when they were team-mates at West Ham.
They were the Hammers' chuckle brothers, unfurling slapstick pranks and keeping the mood light in an industry where team spirit often begins with laughter.
“We were a right pair – he was my best mate in the whole world,” said Moncur. “I could be a bit daft and he was like an Aussie version of me.
“When he first joined West Ham and he was the new kid on the block, I might have done something to his room on a pre-season trip and we just got on like a house on fire.
“Instead of me playing tricks on him and Dylan getting me back, we did it to everyone else. That's just the way it was – maybe we'd chuck some geezer's gear in the ice bath, nothing sinister, just silly stuff. Nowadays if I did that, I'd probably get a right-hander.
“One day, for a laugh, he got his head shaved on both sides like a mohawk, and the next day I got mine done as well. It looked ridiculous, but we played the game with a smile on our faces.
“To lose him at such a young age was devastating, but I believe he's watching me all the time and I'm still close to his family.”
Moncur's belief that a higher power sustains his friendship with Tombides on a celestial wavelength is rooted in his devout Christianity. At Orient, his Friday prayer meetings started with half a dozen players in a finite congregation. Now there are nine.
“I'm a massive believer in God,” said Moncur. “I believe He has helped us all the way through the season and hopefully He will guide us to promotion.”
