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Ulster dramatically do U-turn on their deal to sign Nakarawa after a medical
By Liam Heagney
Fijian talisman Leone Nakarawa will no longer be joining Irish province Ulster next season following the unspecified findings of a weekend medical by the club. It was January 27 when it was announced that Dan McFarland has snapped up the Glasgow Warriors second row.
At that time, Nakarawa had only played just the once for the Scottish club in the 2020/21 season but he went on to make seven more appearances, his most recent coming in a late April run off the bench in the loss to Benetton.
Nearly seven weeks later it has been confirmed that the one-year deal penned by the 62-cap, 33-year-old Fijian forward won't now be going ahead.
A statement from the Irish province read: Ulster Rugby can today [Thursday] confirm that Leone Nakarawa will no longer join the province this summer. We can confirm that on receipt of a detailed medical report following an examination by the club at the weekend, Leone Nakarawa will no longer be joining for next season.
“This outcome is disappointing for both the player and Ulster Rugby. However, we will continue to build strongly with our preparations for next season. We wish Leone the very best for the future. Further updates on the 2021/22 season squad will be released in due course.”
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Latest Comments
This would be great news for England, but I would have doubts about whether he deserves a hybrid contract. He's not as good as Feyi-Waboso or Freeman, and he might be behind Roebuck and Sleightholme in the pecking order. Behind them Hendy and Elliott are probably at a similar level to Arundell.
Go to commentsNothing to do with fair or unfair for me. Purely about results & the manner in which the ABs were losing. I was optimistic in 2020 but only 3 wins from 6 tests played soon dented that. By the time Schmidt & Ryan were recruited in 2022, the ABs & Foster were a laughing stock & their win rate was in the toilet. Thankfully Schmidt & Ryan helped turn the ABs fortunes somewhat.
The biggest issue I had with Cane as Skipper was his absence for nearly 50% of tests played. Through injury. Buck Shelford wrote an article on this very issue in 2021, suggesting Cane should relinquish the captaincy & concentrate on availability when fit.
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