Right: Beaconsfield cricket premiership player Alan Sauvarin has been known as ‘Mongrel’ for the last 30 years.By Glen Atwell
ONLY someone who is proud of his nickname would introduce himself as ‘Mongrel’.
But for Alan Sauvarin, 47, the name has stuck.
The Warren resident loves his colourful nickname and can’t help but laugh when he recalls how he got it.
“I was working at the Pakenham abattoir in the late 1970s when a bloke named Alan O’Connor lightheartedly announced to everyone that I was a mongrel,” he said.
“I didn’t understand it back then and still don’t understand it today.
“But for some reason it stuck, with everyone, and has refused to budge ever since,” Mongrel said.
The Beaconsfield Cricket Club player said some people struggle to remember his real name.
“It’s weird how nicknames become the only name people remember you by, that’s the sign of a good one,” Alan said.
But it is always a sign of fitting in, especially at a sporting club, according to Mr Sauvarin.
“Most people that are around the club a lot have been given a nickname, it’s shows that you are a part of the group, so I love mine,” Mongrel said.
A good nickname is something to treasure, but Alan said two nicknames are better than one.
“Down Leongatha way, I’m known as Skull, it’s the name of an old WCW wrestler.
“Being known as two different nicknames took some getting used though, it’s great fun,” Alan said.
So while those living on the fringes of Gippsland associate Alan with the antics of a professional wrestler, in the eyes of Cardinia and Casey residents, Mongrel is here to stay.
