What’s in a name.
Well if your name is called out as a new All Black a lot and if your name is Leicester Ofa Ki Wales Twickenham Fainga’anuku well there is not two that name.
Leicester can thank his father for the name.
Malakai was a former Tongan international prop who represented Tonga at the 1999 World Cup.
Tonga had a fabulous win over Italy in Leicester during the group stage of the tournament. He then named his son after the city they triumphed in when his son was born the following day.
But wait there’s more.
He added Wales and Twickenham to his middle names, Why?
Well Wales, because it was the primary host nation of the 1999 World Cup,and Twickenham because Tonga played England there 4 days later.
The family moved to NZ in the early 2000’s firstly in Auckland and later Christchurch. He attended Nelson College and became captain of their first xv. He nearly signed for the Sydney Roosters in league before his father convinced him to sign with the Tasman Mako’s as a 15 year old.
Tasman is at the top of the South Island in NZ, a beautiful part of the country, and later become a fully contracted member of the Crusaders ahead of the 2019 season.
He played only 1 match that year, before earning 11 caps in 2020, 13 starts in 2021, and in 2022 scored 10 tries for the Crusaders on the way to the title.
Leicester can cover several area’s including centre and winger and is a crowd favorite wherever he plays.
He will play his first test against Ireland on Saturday at Eden Park in Auckland.
Go well my friend and we wish you and your family all the very best wishes. You deserve it.
Enjoy your footie everyone. One last thing. I predict Leicester will score a try, Here’s hoping.
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