Apollo Perelini is a former Samoan dual code rugby international player.
Apollo Perelini played for St. Helens in the
Rugby League PremiershipThe Rugby League Premiership was a competition for British rugby league clubs that operated between 1973 and 1995. As the Super League Premiership the competition continued to operate until 1997....
and the
Super LeagueSuper League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
. He also played for
Sale SharksSale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...
in the
Zurich ChampionshipThe English Premiership, also currently known as the Aviva Premiership because of the league's sponsorship by Aviva, is a professional league competition for rugby union football clubs in the top division of the English rugby system. There are twelve clubs in the Premiership...
and
North HarbourThe North Harbour Rugby Union , commonly referred to colloquially as North Harbour or simply Harbour, is a provincial rugby team which competes in the ITM Cup , the successor to the country's former domestic competition, the National Provincial Championship .-Area:Harbour Rugby encompasses a...
in New Zealand.
He was named '
Apollo 11In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
' because he was born on the day that the Apollo space project was launched.
In the 1991 Rugby Union World Cup he played as an open side flanker, in the Samoans' four games (against Scotland, Wales, Argentina and Australia). During the World Cup he gained the nickname of "Terminator" for his hard tackling. In 1994 he received an approach from St Helens to play rugby league in England. At first he rejected it, but finally agreed. In 1995 he played for rugby league for
Samoa-Notable Players & Coaches:* John Ackland * Steve Kaiser Coach 1990 - 1994* Steve Kaiser 1986* Afi Ah Koui 1986* Andrew Ah Koui 1986* George Apelu 1986* Fa'ausu Afoa circa-1995* Wing Afoa 1990 - 1994* Isaak Ah Mau circa-2006...
in the Rugby League World Cup, making him the first Samoan to play in World Cups in both codes.
Perelini played both prop and second row in league, but just as a back row player in union.
At age 33, after finishing his rugby league playing career, he returned to Rugby Union's
Sale SharksSale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...
as a player. After retiring from playing he joined the Sale's Coaching staff. In 2004 he returned to St Helens as the team's strength and conditioning coach, a position he still holds.
He now lives in
DubaiDubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
and is head of sport at
Repton School DubaiRepton School in Dubai is an independent day and boarding school in Nad Al Sheba 3 - 4, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It serves years K - 13 .It is one of the best up and coming schools in the gulf with a very talented array of pupils....
a
private schoolPrivate schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
and
Wayne McDonaldWayne McDonald is a former rugby league footballer, recently he played for the Campbelltown City Kangaroos in Australia. McDonald played over 175 games in the Super League in the 1990s and 2000s. He played club football for Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, Hull Sharks, St Helens, Leeds Rhinos, Wigan...
is keen to get him involved with rugby league in the
United Arab EmiratesThe United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
.
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