Welsh rugby is awash with some weird and wonderful nicknames.
While some don't need a super sleuth to work out the origination of the monikers, others are a bit more tricky to fathom out.
We've had a bit of a dig around to find out the stories behind the likes of Chicken, The Smash, Baby Rhino, Van, Wellies and the rest.
Here they are, beginning with those of the current squad and coaches.
Jonathan Humphreys (Comrade, Offside)
The Welsh forwards coach was nicknamed Comrade Humphreys by the Ospreys squad after turning 'Citzen Smith' and espousing working class values following a controversial decision by bigwigs at the region to ban their players from wearing fake tan or coloured boots.
But the former Wales captain is also known in rugby circles simply as 'Offside' because he was prepared to put his body on the line and do virtually anything to slow opposition possession.
Stephen Jones (Wellies)
The outside-half and current Welsh backs coach will go down as one of the greats, but he was thought to have earned this nickname due to his awkward-looking gait while running.
Byron Hayward (Idris)
The successor to Shaun Edwards as Wales' defence coach gets his nickname in a nod to his father Idris Hayward and happens to be Byron's middle name.
Martyn Williams (Nugget)
There may not be many of the locks left these days, but the ginger hair Wales' new team manager sported back in the day means he will forever be know as Nugget.
Gareth Anscombe (Chicken)
The outside-half/full-back picked up his nickname while still playing in New Zealand and had hoped to shed it once he pinned his colours to the Welsh mast in 2014.
But he told Rugby World: "My nickname is Chicken. I was hoping when I came here I’d have flicked it but thanks to Jared Hoeata it travelled over from New Zealand with me.
“It’s down to the size of the pins I have. I’ve been working hard in the gym to build them up but I reckon its all those fast-twitch fibres I have. I’m not too worried, as long as I can run around on them.”
Alun Wyn Jones (Alun Gwyn Boots)
When the Wales captain was a young man just emerging onto the scene at the Ospreys, he stodd out from the crowd.
Apart from having long hair, he had a pair of white rugby boots on, at a time when it was black or nothing. Second rows wearing white rugby boots was quite unusual. That’s how he got the nickname Alun Gwyn Boots.
Liam Williams (Sanjay)
The full-back or wing was given the name while on holiday in Scotland after a family thought he looked like the Eastenders character.
Alun Wyn Jones (Alun Gwyn Boots)
When An part from having long hair, he had a pair of white rugby boots on, at a time when it was black or nothing. Second rows wearing white rugby boots was quite unusual. That’s how he got the nickname Alun Gwyn Boots.
Aaron Wainwright (The Smash)
The star find for Wales and the Dragons has had a meteoric rise through the rugby ranks.
But the former footballer got his nickname from his days at Newport-based grassroots club Whiteheads RFC.
The coaching team there certainly had an eye for Wainwright's ability to stretch every sinew in the opposing ranks and gave him his moniker.
Ken Owens (Sheriff, Cannonball)
The Wales hooker is nicknamed from the days his grandfather was mayor of Carmarthen and council chairman. Also known as Cannonball Ken for his ball carrying.
Nick Tompkins (Neil)
The new Welsh centre, from Saracens, didn't have to wait long before being given his nickname from his new team-mates.
And it stems from a confusing talk between Wales skipper Alun Wyn Jones and England captain Owen Farrell at the 2020 Six Nations Championship launch.
“He (Jones) said ‘Neil’s a good lad’. Owen got very confused and didn’t understand what he was talking about until it dawned on him that he got my name wrong. It’s sticking now, unfortunately,” said Tompkins.
Jonathan Davies (Fox) and James Davies (Cubby boi)
The Scarlets centre has had the nickname since his parents took over the Fox and Hounds pub in Bancyfelin. His younger brother, James, naturally became the cub.
Jonah Holmes (Baby Rhino)
The Leicester Tiger is being heavily linked with a move to the Dragons this summer to keep alive his hopes of playing more Test rugby for Wales.
And his immediate impact at Welford Road in scoring 10 tries in his opening 11 games during the start of the 2017/18 season, alongside his powerful frame and meaty hindquarters, got him his nickname.
Jonathan Davies (Jiffy)
You hear many theories advanced by those who claim to be in the know about Jiffy.
We've had: "It's because he had lightning pace...he'd be gone in a jiffy!"
We've had: "It's because he's a huge fan of the American peanut butter Jif, spreads it on his toast every morning by all accounts."
In fact we've heard all manner of weird and wonderful explanations.
But the truth is far simpler than you would ever imagine, although it doesn't appear to offer any deep and logical explanation as such.
When Davies joined Neath in the early 1980s someone in the dressing room began to call him Jiffy, for no apparent reason.
There had actually been another player at The Gnoll for years who had been christened with the same name but he had left. For reasons unknown to Jiffy, the tag stuck.
Ian Gough (Van)
The Welsh lock found himself with an immediate nickname, that forms his Twitter handle, when he joined the national squad in 1998.
He said in his autobiography "It wasn't exactly a comic masterpiece but that's where my nickname came from, hooker Garin Jenkins when I was first called up by Wales in 1998.
"He was calling me Van and after a few days I cracked and asked him what Van meant. He just shrugged his shoulders and said 'Van Gough, obviously'."
Ryan Jones (Jughead)
Ex-Wales skipper and WRU performance director Jones explains his nickname rather simply. “I was blessed with rather large ears as a kid,” said Jones.
Dai Young (The Enforcer)
Wales team manager and ex-flanker Martyn Williams revealed the nickname for the former Wasps coach in his autobiography.
It stemmed from his days in the rough and tumble world of rugby league where Young plied his trade for Leeds and Salford over a six-year period.
He wrote: "Dai was a real hard man on the field and you could see how he picked up the nickname 'The Enforcer'. He was such a big lump and a presence on the tighthead.
"I played with him after he came back from a long spell in rugby league. A lot of Welsh boys haven't got that much of a respect or reputation up north, but Dai was an exception to the rule."
Gareth Thomas (Alfie)
In the late 1980s, there was an American sitcom called ALF (an acronym for Alien Life Form) about a friendly extraterrestrial. And, apparently, Gareth Thomas bore a striking resemblance!
Rob Howley (Stan)
The former Wales and Lions attack coach earned the name for his resemblance to Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy fame.
Sam Warburton (Avatar)
When Wales and Lions skipper Warburton first burst onto the scene, anyone and everyone was raving about him, that's why Dan Baugh gave him his nickname, apparently, with the film Avatar also being big news back in 2010.
There are also suggestions it relates to a his resemblance to the main character in the film.
Dale McIntosh (The Chief)
Some might have thought this was due to his warrior-like style of play, but it was actually because Dale McIntosh resembled the “Chief” Bromden character from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Gethin Jenkins (Melon)
Gethin Jenkins has been known as Melon since his schooldays. “Something to do with having a big head,” he explains.
Richard Hibbard (Shirley)
The Dragons hooker revealed he was being called after the Eastenders character a few years back thanks to his flowing blond locks. The reason? A clue for the next name on the list.
Adam Jones (Heather or Bomb)
Richard Hibbard mischievously revealed that the prop had been called Heather for his likeness to the character Heather Trott from Eastenders...hence Hibbard becoming Shirley!
His more famous nickname is, of course, 'Bomb', which actually stems from 1990s wrestler Adam Bomb.
Allan Bateman (Clamp)
Common consensus has always been that Wales star Bateman was given the nickname for the ferocity of his tackling in rugby league.
However in an interview with WalesOnline, Bateman revealed that's not the case.
“Not so, it’s a myth, I never had it in rugby league,” he said. “I got it after I came back to union and was playing union for Wales.
“We were at the Vale of Glamorgan before heading off on tour. I was walking to where some of the boys were sat and Dai Young said: ‘Here comes the Clamp’. That was it, it just stuck.”
Mark Jones (aka Boycie)
The former Scarlets wing, who is currently part of The Crusaders coaching team in New Zealand, was dubbed Del Boy by Stephen Jones, who thought he looked a bit shifty, but Dafydd James got his Only Fools and Horses characters confused and Boycie stuck.
Bob Norster (Boycie)
Another Boycie. The British Lion earned his moniker due to his likeness to the character played by John Challis in Only Fools and Horses.
Mike Watkins (Spike)
While out scrumping apples as a youngster, future Wales hooker and captain Mike Watkins fell and was impaled on railings. His sharp-witted schoolmates christened him Spike!
Matthew Rees (Smiler)
For someone whose battled and beaten cancer, Wales and Blues hooker Rees has plenty to smile about. But his affable nature landed him the nickname long before.
Phil Davies (Tulip)
Apparently former Blues coach and Wales international Davies’ name stems from having parents with a grocery shop in Seven Sisters.
"Mum and Dad had a grocery shop in Seven Sisters. They did all the flowers for Palm Sunday and I always used to go on about delivering the tulips. One of the lads I grew up with said, `You're always banging on about the flaming tulips so I'm going to call you that'. And the name stuck.," he says.
