12. Will Greenwood makes dash across the world
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After his with suffered complications with her pregnancy, the centre made a two-day trip home, missing the Samoa pool game but returned in time to play an integral role in the rest of the tournament. The story had a happy ending as Greenwood’s wife, Caro, safely give birth to a boy the following January.
11. The first Lion tamer plays in the World Cup
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Schalk van der Merwe, a game park warden from Namibia, became an unlikely hero in Australia when he turned out for his country. Facing some of the worlds fiercest rugby players was nothing compared to his day job. He once had to leap into a lion cage to save his sister’s pet monkey from the mouth of a hungry cat.