Mako Vunipola
photo by sportsphotographer.eu/www.bigstockphoto.com/
Birth Name: Makovina Wanangarua I Whanga Nui-Atara Vunipola
Place of Birth: Wellington, New Zealand
Date of Birth: 14 January, 1991
Ethnicity: Tongan
Mako Vunipola is a professional rugby union player. He plays for Saracens in the English Premiership, the England national team, and the British and Irish Lions. He won the award for England Player of the Year in 2018.
Mako was born in New Zealand, to Tongan parents, The Rev. Iesinga Vunipola, a Methodist minister and chaplain to the U.K. Tongan Community, and Fe’ao Vunipola (Fe’ao Moe Lotu Vunipola), a rugby union player, who was the Tonga rugby national team’s captain. His family moved to Wales in 1998, after his father signed with the Pontypool Rugby Football Club.
He is the brother of fellow Saracens teammate Billy Vunipola. His uncles, Elisi Vunipola and Manu Vunipola, also played for Tonga, and work for the Ministry of Sport of Tonga. His cousin, Manu Vunipola, who is Elisi’s son, also plays for Saracens.
Mako’s paternal grandfather is named Sione Vunipola (the son of Viliami Vunipola).
Source: Family History of Mako Vunipola – https://www.dailymail.co.uk
Elisi Vunipola’s son, Manu Vunipola (Billy and Mako’s cousin), also plays for Saracens.
correction
Billy Vunipola never played for the British and Irish Lions (due to injury).