The Bristol Bears captain admitted people often find his moniker “confusing” and even his own club mistakenly printed both his first and surnames on the back of his shirt for his first game.

He told Rugby World magazine: “The first game that I played in the Premiership, the name on the back of my shirt was Fitz-Harding, which is quite often what people assume my name is.

“I had to ask for it to be reprinted.

“My parents named me George but decided that they wanted to call me Fitz, so my middle name is Fitzgerald.

“My real name is George but I’ve only ever been called Fitz, which for other people is often quite confusing. It’s honestly the bane of my life.”

Fitz found it “daunting” to take on the club captaincy last season, but he now thinks it is a role he is well-suited to.

He said: “It was quite daunting when I first got asked to do it – there are some huge names in the sport here – but it’s something that feels very natural now.

“Captaincy and leadership for me is a group thing and I’ve got a really good group of leaders around me who I’m able to lean on.

“Being captain means that I’ve got to have a really good grasp of the bigger picture of our game, so there’s definitely more responsibility, but I wouldn’t necessarily say it changes the way I play.

“I’ve always wanted to be somebody who leads by example, whether or not I’m captain.”