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'Great day': Nemani Nadolo leads charge in hailing arrival of new Pasifika Super Rugby teams
By Josh Raisey
Fiji winger Nemani Nadolo has said that the announcement by New Zealand Rugby (NZR) that Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua have been granted conditional licences to join a planned new professional Super Rugby competition next year is a “great day for rugby as a whole”.
The 33-year-old took to Twitter after the news was announced to congratulate and thank all involved, saying the “next generation of talent coming from the islands don’t have to look overseas first to play professional rugby”.
The tweet from Nadolo following the Super Rugby announcement finished by saying thank you in Fijian, Tongan and Samoan. “This is a great day for rugby as a whole!! Knowing the next generation of talent coming from the islands don’t have to look overseas '1st' to play professional rugby. Congratulations and thank you to all involved. #Vinaka #malopAupito #faafetai.”
Across Nadolo’s varied career, he has played professional club rugby in Australia, France, England, New Zealand and Japan but not Fiji, the country of his birth. But that will now be different for young players coming through, which could cause significant changes to the landscape of international rugby in the future.
Established in 2017, the Fijian Drua have already built a formidable reputation on the field after winning the Australian National Rugby Championship in 2018 in only their second year in the competition.
Moana Pasifika took the field for the first time on December 5 last year when they played the Maori All Blacks in Hamilton. NZR CEO Mark Robinson said: “We are moving into the final phase of planning for 2022 and beyond and we have confidence that Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua will be able to meet the conditions of the licence, which includes final sign off on a sustainable business plan by 30 June.
“In the next two months, we will be working with Rugby Australia and the two Pasifika teams to formalise their place in the new competition for what we believe will kick off an exciting, new era for the professional game.”
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Latest Comments
33, unlikely?
It’s actually an interesting question, how does his RL career impact you perception of his ‘rugby age’?
I’d imagine he’s fresher than a 26 yo rugby player, he’s fitting and done more k’s, but had less impacts (unsure of his injuries).
Anyway, your conclusion doesn’t really hit the mark. What you’ve not asked yourself is would he be better at 33, with 6 years under his belt, than 28/9, and only 2 years experience. If he really is considering it a major goal of course, he may just want an Olympic medal and leave etc.
Still, in relation to your topic, what I suspected would be his thinking is the ever increasing value in playing in Japan. Perhaps he’d try and give this first WC a go, trying to make it in the All Blacks, obviously playing Super Rugby, then he’d take a much bigger contract in Japan? Learn how to run around people with better accuracy and consistency (rofl), and then return to NZ as an improved player to Australia 2027, with the hope to fine tune further and make the most of his marketability in the bonanza that America 2031 is going to leave behind. 33 is still prime earning age and who knows what the MLR market is going to be like them, if teams have started to have major backers etc.
It’s all about the money afterall (yes, I wasn’t referring to his ability re USA31’)!
Go to commentsNo, just an overly zealous fan who doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
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