1
Glasgow Warriors officially confirm Leone Nakarawa is returning to club
By Online Editors
Leone Nakarawa has agreed to re-join Glasgow Warriors, subject to visa and medical.
The Fijian is due to arrive in Glasgow today (Thursday 2nd), having put pen-to-paper on a deal until the end of the season.
The 31-year-old made 69 appearances for the Warriors in his first spell at the club, following his debut against Connacht at the Sportsground in November 2013.
Nakarawa - who is comfortable in the second-row or back-row - quickly became a firm favourite with the Warrior Nation, with his signature offloading ability lighting up many a match in both the Guinness PRO14 and Heineken Champions Cup.
Continue reading below...
WATCH:
One of Welsh Rugby's biggest characters on and off the pitch, RugbyPass travelled to Brecon to see how life after rugby is treating Andy Powell.
Nowhere was his ability more evident than in the 2015 Guinness PRO12 Final, as the irrepressible Nakarawa put in a Man of the Match display to help the Warriors win their maiden title.
Standing at 6’6”, the man from Tavua has represented his country 61 times and has played in three Rugby World Cups. He was named in the official team of the tournament at England 2015.
After leaving Glasgow in 2016, he went on to play 86 games for Racing 92, scoring 23 tries during a three-year spell at the Top14 side.
Nakarawa is also able to boast an Olympic gold medal in his impressive career to date, helping Fiji to 7s glory at Rio 2016 to secure the country’s first-ever Olympic medal. He was then named European Player of the Year in 2017/18 at the end of his second season in Paris.
Speaking to glasgowwarriors.org, Leone Nakarawa, said: "I’ve remained close with my ex-teammates during my time in Paris and they played a big role in my decision to come back.
“I’m really looking forward to working with Dave Rennie and the coaching staff. Glasgow Warriors play an attacking style, which suits the way I like to play.
“The pitch may be different but I can’t wait to see some familiar faces in the crowd when I run out at Scotstoun”.
Glasgow Warriors Head Coach, Dave Rennie, added: “We’re rapt to welcome Leone back to Glasgow.
“Everyone knows how dangerous he is with ball in hand and Glasgow supporters have fond memories of his previous exploits in a Warriors jersey.
“Since his move Leone has continued to develop as a player and was named the European Player of the Year for the 2017/18 season.
“He is close with a lot of the players and we’re looking forward to welcoming him back into the squad this week.”
Trending on RugbyPass
2
All Blacks XV player ratings vs Munster
3
Suaalii strikes awe as Wallabies lose midfielder
4
Scott Robertson responds about handling errors
5
Latest Comments
I think we need to get innovative with the new laws.
Now red cards are only 20 minutes, Razor should send Finau on a head hunting mission to hospitalise their 10 with a shoulder to the chops.
Give the conspiracy theorists a win.
Go to commentsEngland played well enough to win but couldnt score when they needed to and couldnt defend a couple of X-Factor moments from Telea which was ultimately the difference. They needed to hold the ball more and make the AB's make more tackles. Territorially they were good for the first 60. Defending their lead and playing pragmatic rugby in the last 20 was silly. The AB's always had the potential to come back. England still have a long way to go, definite progress would have been shown had they won but it seems they are still stuck where they were shortly after the six nations and their tour to NZ
Go to comments