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Jonah Lomu was a New Zealand rugby player whose dominance on the field had a huge impact on the game. Considered the first global superstar of rugby, Jonah Lomu proved to be a crowd-puller. In 2007, he was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame.
Eric Liddell was a Scottish athlete who won a gold medal in 400 meters race at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. In his later years, he became a Christian missionary. Though he was of Scottish origin, he was born in China, where he spent most of his life and died eventually.
Anthony Mundine is an Australian former rugby league footballer and former professional boxer. He competed from 2000 to 2021 as a boxer and held championship titles, such as the WBA super-middleweight title, the IBO middleweight title, and the WBA interim super-welterweight title. Before becoming a boxer, Mundine was a popular figure in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Paddy Mayne was not just a British Army lieutenant colonel but also a legendary rugby player who had represented both Ireland and the British Lions. He was also known for his reckless behavior, including his drunken brawls. He was part of a huge debate after being denied the Victoria Cross.
Former captain of the New Zealand national rugby team, Kieran Read was not just named World Rugby Player of the Year once but was also part of the World Cup-winning New Zealand rugby squads of 2011 and 2015. He has been regarded as one of the world’s best forwards.
New Zealand rugby player Sam Whitelock is one of the 4 Whitelock brothers who have played high-level rugby. He was part of the World Cup-winning New Zealand squads in 2011 and 2015. He also owns a farm and has been an ambassador for Farmstrong, an initiative that helps farmers.
Tana Umaga is a New Zealand retired rugby union footballer who served as the captain of the national rugby union team. After retiring as a player, Umaga took up coaching career and served as the head coach of the Blues from 2016 to 2018. In 2021, he was appointed as the assistant coach of the Samoa national rugby union team.
The King of the Australian rugby league, Wally Lewis was no stranger to sports, being the son of a rugby player father and a netball player mother. The successful player, coach, and commentator, who had captained the national team, split with his wife of 36 years after cheating on her.
Alexander Volkanovski is an Australian mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Volkanovski is the current featherweight champion in UFC and is currently ranked fourth in the UFC men's pound-for-pound list. Alexander Volkanovski has had one successful title defense and one Fight of the Night honor in his UFC career so far.
François Steyn made history when he became the youngest player to score a Rugby World Cup win, with South Africa’s win over England in 2007. With the 2019 win, he became the first two-time World Cup-winner from his country. He was part of the 2008 Laureus World Team of the Year.
Victor Matfield is a South African former rugby union player who captained the national team as well as the Blue Bulls. Widely regarded as one of the greatest locks in the history of South African rugby, Matfield was extremely successful at disrupting opposition line-outs, a skill that helped his team win the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
Bill Beaumont is a former rugby player who was the captain of the England rugby union team. He played as a lock and earned 34 caps, then a record for a lock. The unexpected 1980 Grand Slam achieved by his team under his captaincy is considered the highest point in his career. He is currently the chairman of World Rugby.
Tony O'Reilly excelled in various sports as a child, including football and cricket, but later chose rugby as his career path. Apart from being a famed Irish rugby player, he had also been a successful businessman, heading H.J. Heinz Company as its CEO. A debt issue led him to be declared bankrupt later.
Pieter-Steph du Toit, a popular lock for the South African national rugby team and was also part of the 2019 Rugby World Cup-winning team. The Stormers player almost had to have a leg amputated after suffering a serious injury in a game against the Auckland Blues in 2020.
Phil Vickery is a former English rugby union player and member of the England squad. He played as a tighthead prop and was a member of England's World Cup-winning squad in 2003. After suffering from several neck injuries, he was forced to retire from rugby in 2010. In 2015, he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Gloucestershire.
