The Cronulla player formerly known as Kayal Iro has explained his decision to change his first name midway through the NRL season.
Iro made a tryscoring return from a hamstring injury in the Sharks’ Magic Round win over Parramatta last Friday sporting a new name on Cronulla’s teamlist.
The 25-year-old has now requested he be referred to as ‘KL Iro’.
The centre is named after his father Kevin Leslie Iro, who enjoyed a decorated career in England and represented New Zealand with distinction.
The left centre’s official documents will still read ‘Kayal’, but the Sharks flyer said he made the switch to ‘KL’ to avoid any doubt as to how his name should be pronounced.
“Mum didn’t want it to be a two-letter name when I was a kid,” Iro said.
“She’s the one that changed it to ‘Kayal’, I think it was just foreign back then to have a two-letter name.
“But my dad always wanted it to be ‘KL’ and I like it that way too because it’s easier to pronounce and there’s no confusion.
“When I first moved to Australia, my dad wanted me to change it, but I’ve always been a shy guy. I was too scared to step on anyone’s toes.
“I guess I’ve built a bit of a relationship with these fellas now, so I asked the question and got it done pretty quick.”
Iro said the same applied to his surname, which was often mispronounced by commentators when his father and uncle Tony were playing.
“Even my dad and uncle when they were playing, the Pommies would pronounce it ‘aye-ro’, rather than ‘ear-ro’,” Iro added.
“He didn’t care, he loved it but it’s pretty cool to hear a commentator saying our family name.”
Iro was born in England while his father was playing for Leeds but spent most of his childhood growing up in the Cook Islands.
While he hinted he would be open to facing the Kangaroos in the end-of-season Ashes series, he has other ambitions on his horizon.
“I wouldn’t say no but my first thing is getting the Cook Islands qualified for the World Cup next year,” he said.
“After my career I want to move back there, relax, and live off the land.”
Iro and the sixth-placed Sharks (5-4) will face one of the most daunting challenges of their season to date when they travel to take on Manly (4-4) at Brookvale Oval on Sunday.
“They’ve got a strong right edge and also (Tom) Trbojevic at the back,” Iro said.
“He (Trboejvic) is a strike weapon in attack and things happen around him we’ve got to be aware of him.”
