Alan Lobo

A hooker out of Nairobi, Kenya, Alan Lobo joined the Lions in 1996 with an accent to put the British royals to shame, and a toughness that belied his undersized frame. One of the smallest guys to ever suit up for the Lions, Lobo was moved to the wing after being lifted off the ground by opposing front rows a few too many times, and a few too many broken bones. But to him, size was never an issue, whether he was cutting down larger opponents at the knees, or simply outdrinking outsized teammates like Jimmy Moore.

A tour operator for a safari company and one of the longest tenured Lions, the 35-year-old is set to marry longtime girlfriend Holly later this month at a Jersey City park overlooking lower Manhattan. While he’s promised her a honeymoon on some tropical island, the man known to teammates as "the Jackal" will also be taking one with 20 of his best friends – fixing to meet up with the Lions in Ireland at the end of April.

A PINT WITH: You just got back from your bachelor party in Montreal?
ALAN LOBO: I did!

APW: Tell me about it?
AL: Not for the article [laughs].

APW: C’mon.
AL: OK. We had a delightful time. Lots of nice things to see and do in Montreal!

APW: Anyone get arrested?
AL: No, but someone got deported.

APW: Tell me about your job.
AL: I’m the chief operating officer for a deluxe safari company. We do tours to Africa and a little bit of India. It’s for the average Joe that wants to buy the deluxe upmarket product, which is around $10,000 or $12,000, soup to nuts. We also work with large companies like Ford or IBM to do incentive programs for their top producers, planning safari tours for, say, their top 100 salespeople.

APW: Growing up in Kenya, what sort of wild animals did you see?
AL: You name it. The company is a family business, so I often would cut school to go on safaris. I was born and raised in Nairobi, which is the capital, so it’s relatively civilized. Although, at our place back home, around 6 o’clock every night, there’s a troop of wild monkeys that goes by. We have a national park right in Nairobi, so it’s not uncommon to see giraffes and antelopes and gazelles not far from tall buildings.

APW: Ever had a close call with a wild animal?
AL: I have. It was on a game farm, before they had electric fences. I was in a pool and a lion started walking toward me. So I dived into the middle of the pool and treaded water for about ten minutes. He looked around, walked up and down, and then went on his merry way.

APW: How about snakes?
AL: Kenya’s not real big on snakes. They’ve got some pythons and mambas. They’re not very big, but they’re in the three-step category if they bite you.

APW: As in, you take three steps and die?
AL: Yeah, basically.

APW: How did your Jackal nickname come to be?
AL: That came from our dear friend Jimmy Moore up at Van Cortlandt Park, while we were playing Lansdowne. He was on the sideline, doing his narrator voice while I was playing: "The jackal trots along the Serengeti, hunting his prey…" It’s stuck ever since.

APW: And, for a short period of time, you were known as the Hindu Hooker?
AL: I was the Hindu Hooker. It was a game against our friends from South Jersey. It was the first time we played them and we got our asses handed to us. I was playing hooker in the B game, and Bert Oberlander was my tighthead. They just worked us up and down the field. Every single put-in, the guy bored in on Bert and lifted our entire front row off the ground, and help themselves to the ball. The only reason I didn’t get hurt is that they’d say, "Alright, everybody, back off." Then they’d back off and let me put my feet down, and then they’d do it again. That went on every single scrum, time and time again.

So at the drinkup, a few of their few guys actually came to drink with us, and one of their props came over to Bert looking for "the Hindu hooker" so he could teach him a couple things. I was like, you should be talking to my tighthead!

APW: Are you Hindu?
AL: I’m not. I was born and raised Roman Catholic.

APW: Since Lobo means "wolf" in Spanish, isn’t Wolf a more logical nickname for you than Jackal or Hindu Hooker?
AL: Wolf was my nickname growing up, along with Sheriff Lobo, from that show "The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo."

APW: With Chet Atkins, right?
AL: Right. No, Claude Akins. I went through hell with that.

APW: You’re one of the smallest guys to play for the Lions, yet you never shied away from taking down bigger opponents. What’s your secret?
AL: The one thing they always used to tell me was, the guy’s not going to go anywhere without his legs. So at the very least, I’d try to get entangled in his legs and slow him down. Even if I didn’t have enough to push right through him, I’d just lock on and pull him back over my shoulder. And failing that, just stand in their way.

APW: Who from the current bunch of Lions impresses you?
AL: I’m always impressed when I watch Stevie Raia play. I’ve never seen anybody put their heart into the game like that. And it’s like flicking a switch with him – the guy goes from being an animal on the pitch to a real nice guy on the sideline.

APW: Do you still see yourself playing after you get married?
AL: I do. I can’t see myself not playing. I’m hoping to play well into my 60s.

Quick Facts:

• Occupation: COO for a safari company
• Birthplace: Nairobi, Kenya
• Beer: Boddingtons
• Maryanne or Ginger: Maryanne, definitely Maryanne
• Favorite Lions Memory: The one that always makes me laugh was against a South Jersey side way back in '97 or '98. I came out of a ruck tangled up with one of their guys. He was twice my size and a real dirty player, hand around my neck, throwing punches, etc. So I square off with him, whilst also casting aspersions on his lineage and his relationship with his mother. Suddenly he stops, backs off and heads back down the field. I'm a little surprised, especially since I thought I was going to get the crap kicked out of me, but I yell something like "Yeah… you better be running!" Pretty proud of myself, I turn around...and see the reason the guy took off. Paulie Marotta was charging up behind me, his fist cocked. My ego was a little dented, but it was great to know I had a 280-pound backup!
• Most Valuable Teammate: I have played with a lot of great guys over the years, but on and off the field I'd have to give the nod to Jimmy Moore (even though the bastard hardly ever passed the ball!).
• Least Valuable Teammate: No one – that’s the beauty of rugby, and the Lions in particular -- everyone jumps in when they need to.