Nonu, 44, named to play All Blacks in latest chapter of extraordinary career
New Zealand will face one of its all-time greats in Ma’a Nonu when it plays the Sharks next week in the second match of its South Africa rugby tour.
Nonu joined the Sharks only on Tuesday on a short-term contract.
New Zealand’s Ma’a Nonu passes the ball in 2003. Steve Christo
He was picked in the back reserves to play against the All Blacks next Wednesday (AEST) at Kings Park.
He retired from internationals in 2015 with 103 Test caps after his second Rugby World Cup title, but has continued to play, mainly in France for Top 14 club Toulon, and still hasn’t retired at the remarkable age of 44.
“His career’s been this long because he’s a true professional, and he’s been blessed to keep playing,” Patrick Tuipulotu said after leading the All Blacks to a 38-21 win over the Stormers in Cape Town.
Tuipulotu played alongside Nonu for New Zealand and the Blues.
“It’ll be quite a spectacle to see him come up against us, and we’ll certainly look forward to that. Might catch up with him and give him a jab or two,” he added with a smile.
The Sharks hired Nonu mainly in a mentor and leadership capacity to work with the coaches on player development.
Sharks coach JP Pietersen was a former Springboks opponent of Nonu’s, and was one of the main reasons why the New Zealander took the chance.
“The best players don’t just leave memories, they leave standards. That’s what Ma’a brings,” Pietersen said.
“Every conversation, every training session and every interaction is an opportunity for our players to learn what excellence looks like.”
Now Nonu looks set to make his Sharks debut against the All Blacks in a young backline behind an experienced pack.
Eight Sharks are under 23 and are current or former Junior Boks, including three in the backline and the three front-row replacements.
Ma'a Nonu rides a horse at Whakarua Park in Ruatoria. Getty
Recent Boks debutant Vusi Moyo is at flyhalf and two-time World Cup winner Vincent Koch at tighthead prop.
All Blacks coach Dave Rennie will name his team on Monday (AEST).
“We know we need to be better – and we will be,” Rennie said after the scratchy win over the Stormers.
“When we had the ball we were really dangerous. We knew the Stormers would bring a lot of line speed and the dewy conditions made things difficult at times. We weren’t quite clinical enough.
“We expected a lot of aerial attacks, and we probably didn’t deal with that as well as we wanted.
“We felt if we could hang on to the ball we could eventually find space and beat them, and we were very clinical late in the game.”
Wednesday 12 August, 3am: All Blacks vs Sharks, Kings Park, Durban
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