Rugby World Cup: Commentators face a tough call with players' names

Murray Mexted will be calling some tongue twister games. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Tackling the Fijian fullback Taniela Maravunawasawasa on the field will be hard enough. But commentators will have to master his surname as well as other tongue-twisting names during the Rugby World Cup.

Maori Television has issued its commentary team with a pronunciation guide for hard-to-handle names.

And at Sky TV, Murray Mexted has drawn the toughest assignment, covering the Russians', Georgians' and Romanians' games.

"Some of them are incredibly difficult," he says.

The Georgian names, which use a different alphabet and have unusual phonetics, are especially tough, but Sky is also providing Mexted with a phonetics guide.

Former Counties-Manukau rugby star Tony Marsh, who represented France at the 2003 World Cup, has been doing his homework ahead of making his commentary debut for Maori Television.

He has endured English-speaking commentators butchering players' names for years.

He says the key is to do your homework and learn the key players' names in advance - but he is glad not to be involved in any of the Russian games.

Maori Television held a hui recently for commentary staff where instructions on correct pronunciation were dished out.

Auckland Blues coach Pat Lam, who will call the Samoa-South Africa match, says it is about identifying players who will be in the thick of the action, and becoming familiar with their names.

Players in positions such as halfback, first-five eighth and flanker tend to see more of the action, he says.

Lam is fairly comfortable with pronouncing Pasifika names, which are similar to Maori.

TONGUE TIED

Fiji: Taniela Maravunawasawasa - ta-nee-ELLA mara-voona-wasa-WASA

Japan: Takeshisa Usuzuki - ta-ke-SHEE-sa oo-soo-ZOO-ki

Romania: Valentin Calefeteanu - valan-TEEN kala-fe-TAIR-noo

France: Fullgence Ouedraogo - FULL-zsoss er-DROW-gaw

Russia: Vladimir Botvinnikov - vla-DEE-meer bot-VIN-i-koff