From Condom to Apollo: The best names in Rugby World Cup history
From the take off of Samoa’s Apollo Perelini to Fiji’s Campese Ma’afu, here’s a roll call of fabulous handles and tongue-twisters, from World Cups past and present.
World Cup
Don't miss out on the headlines from World Cup. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Rugby’s showpiece tournament in Japan may be about the national pride of 20 nations yet it’s also about tackling a maze of memorable names and pronunciations.
To celebrate, we’ve come up with a Rugby World Cup Names XV drawn from history.
The players must have played at a World Cup.
From the take off of Samoa’s Apollo Perelini to Fiji’s Campese Ma’afu, here’s a roll call of fabulous handles and tongue-twisters, past and present.
Stream the Rugby World Cup 2019 on KAYO SPORTS. Every match Live & On-Demand on your TV, computer, mobile or tablet. Get your 14 day free trial >
RUGBY WORLD CUP NAMES XV
MAKOVINA WANANGARUA I WHANGA NUI-ATARA VUNIPOLA (England)
Tired already after this mouthful? The full name of England prop Mako Vunipola honours his Tongan heritage. The front-row powerhouse’s father played for Tonga, he was born in New Zealand, raised in Wales and played for England under-age sides as a teenager.
WIMPIE VAN DER WALT (Japan)
There will be a few strangers a little reluctant to bowl up and shout “Wimpie” at a heavily-framed, 110kg South African-born forward.
No problems. Wimpie is his universal name after being christened “Petrus Willem van der Walt.”
The flanker-lock played Super Rugby for the Southern Kings and Bulls before serving his three-year residency in Japan to qualify for selection at this World Cup for his adopted country.
JEAN CONDOM (France)
One rugby writer I’ve known since birth may have written that Condom was at full stretch winning a lineout against the Wallabies at the 1987 World Cup in the epic semi-final at Concord Oval.
Condom played in two World Cups as a stalwart at lock for Les Bleus. He had retired before it was possible for him to be paired with England’s Danny Grewcock in a Barbarians pack.
PRINCE !GAOSEB (Namibia)
Prince William may be the patron of Welsh rugby but the one true Prince playing at this World Cup is Namibian flanker Prince ǃGaoseb.
He’s only 21-years-old and his parents really wanted to emphasise his importance. That’s no misprint with his surname. It does start with a “!”
Prince William was involved in the Royal photo of the year in 2017 when snapped with Kurtley Beale, who was wearing just a pair of budgie smugglers in the Wallabies’ dressing room after a Test in Cardiff.
“When you rock up to the party feeling a little overdressed,” Beale penned on Instagram.
APOLLO PERELINI (Samoa)
One of the great footballing names from all codes.
The Kiwi-born flanker owes his name to being born on the day that Apollo 11 launched for the moon on July 16, 1969.
He had ferocious hitting power as a tackler and was a key figure in the first great World Cup upset when Samoa toppled Wales in Cardiff at the 1991 World Cup.
He accepted an offer to play rugby league with St Helens in England and, in 1995, became the first Samoan to play in World Cups in two codes.
SANCHEZ WILLIAM GENIA (Australia)
There was a reason that former Reds and Wallabies teammate James Horwill delighted in calling his long-time teammate “Sanchez.” It wasn’t a nickname but a discovery when Genia’s passport was spotted one day. His Christian name is actually Sanchez but he’s goes by Will.
GEORGE DAVID CAMPESE MA’AFU (Fiji)
Brilliant. His parents had an eye for rugby royalty when the veteran Fijian prop entered the world.
He plays as Campese Ma’afu.
He was named after David Campese on December 19, 1984 when the Wallaby was in his pomp after his tryscoring deeds on the historic 1984 Grand Slam tour.
Ma’afu was born in Sydney, attended Granville Boys’ High and his brother Salesi played for the Wallabies.
MBONGENI THEO MBONAMBI (South Africa)
“Bongi” is the back-up hooker in the South African squad and a regular in Springbok packs.
He was born in Bethlehem, a town in South Africa’s Free State about 240km northeast of Bloemfontein.
HUGO HORN (Namibia)
The wonderfully named Hugo Horn played at hooker in Namibia’s 1999 and 2007 World Cup sides and would have visited Australia for the 2003 edition but pulled out for financial reasons.
JANNIE DE BEER (South Africa)
Australian fans got into the spirit of support with a “Jannie de Beer Can” banner at one Test he played against the Wallabies.
He is well known to Wallabies’ fans because he was at five-eighth for the Springboks in the gripping extra-time semi-final at Twickenham at the 1999 World Cup.
It was the last of his 13 Tests. One field goal did not live up to his astonishing world record of five field goals which knocked England out of the same tournament.
TAKUDZWA NGENYA (United States)
The Zimbabwean-born flyer was a regular on the French club scene with Biarritz and has scored some eye-catching tries for the American Eagles in Test rugby.
Now 34, he scored a stunning try against South Africa at the 2007 World Cup with the flying feet that once had him hand-timed at 10.5 sec for the 100m. Take a look on YouTube.
CHILIBOY RALEPELLE (South Africa)
Sadly, the heat to his name most aptly fits the hot water he was got into with two drug bans.
The former Springboks hooker initially played for the Bulls before heading to France to play with Toulouse in 2013-14.
He tested positive to an anabolic steroid in an out-of-competition test in France in early 2014 and was banned for two years. He returned another positive doping test earlier this year.
BENHUR KIVALU (Tonga)
Was he bigger than Ben Hur? Yes. He did play at 1.96kg in a formidable 130kg frame at times.
The Samoan-born former Tongan international played lock and No.8 and featured at the 1999 and 2003 World Cups.
He went on to coach the Tongan Under-20s and work in rugby development in Tonga.
ROMEO GONTINEAC (Romania)
There are plenty of World Cup players over time who’ve fancied themselves as romeos but the former Romanian captain Romeo Gontineac proudly wore it as a name.
One of the greats of Romanian rugby. He played 14 times across four World Cups as a centre, including the 2003 tournament in Australia, and had a stint as national coach.
LAPPIES LABUSCHAGNE (Japan)
You pronounce his surname completely differently to the “Labuschagne” of Australian cricketing fame but the origins of the name are the same.
“Lappies” is South African-born and his handle is a convenient shortening of his christened names “Pieter Hermias Cornelius”.
He has become an important member of the Japanese squad at flanker after an extended commitment to the Japanese Top League side Kubota Spears and the Sunwolves.
‘Worth millions’: Why Bledisloe 2 is make-or-break for Australian rugby
Australia literally cannot afford to have its 23-year losing streak to the All Blacks in New Zealand extended. The future of the sport in this country could depend on it, writes Jamie Pandaram.
Wallabies cult hero signs with overseas rival
Australian rugby has lost the services of one of its most powerful props – and most popular players – with a Super Rugby rival set to cash in.