Man Utd legend convinced bored England teammate to watch his wedding DVD at 2010 World Cup

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney once tried to cure an England team-mate's boredom at the 2010 World Cup - by watching a copy of his wedding DVD with them.

Three Lions fans don't have too many happy memories of the World Cup in South Africa, with the 4-1 last 16 defeat to Germany ending what was a pretty miserable tournament for Fabio Capello's side.

But one theme throughout that World Cup - and, indeed, almost every other major tournament - is the gaps that existed between matches.

In fact, Gareth Southgate was praised for ensuring England players kept active during their Euro 2020 camp, with an indoor basketball court, swimming pools containing inflatables, and even darts tournaments between players and media all organised.

But things were slightly different in 2010, even though England's training camp was situated just two miles away from the scene of their opening group game against the United States.

And former Three Lions striker Jermain Defoe, who was at the tournament in South Africa, once explained the unusual tale of how Rooney kept them busy during one evening.

Jermain Defoe on classic Rooney story

Speaking to ESPN in 2018, Defoe revealed how Rooney resorted to interesting measures to cure his boredom.

He explained: "When we were in South Africa, I remember one night I was bored, so me and Wayne Rooney sat in his room and watched his whole wedding on DVD.

"It was nice to spend quality time with a team-mate. Wayne had something like a flash mob - the waiters were singing, dancing - if I can remember.

"It was good because he was my strike partner. Yeah, you do get bored, but all the teams get bored."

Alamy)

The story does bring back memories of a similar story relating to Rooney. This time, however, it was during his days at United - and involved Roy Keane.

The former Everton striker took a major risk during preparation for an away day, when he turned off the rugby league match that Keane was watching - and put The X Factor on instead. You can imagine the Irishman's reaction.

Keane revealed in his book, 'The Second Half': "There was a big TV in the room. I was into rugby league, and there was a big game on.

"I went to the toilet, came back, and someone had changed the channel to something else - something stupid, I can't remember what it was.

"A few of the players were sitting there, giggling away. I said, 'Where's the rugby league?' I knew Wayne was up to something. I could tell by his face.

"I said, 'Where's the remote control?' He said, 'I don't know.' I said, 'You f****n do.'

"I didn't exactly storm out, but I couldn't be bothered trying to get the remote control back, so I decided I'd watch the rest of the match up in my room."