Watch: Is this an early try of the year contender?
We have only just hit February, but the best try of 2019 may have already been scored thanks to this stunning effort at the Sydney Sevens by Alosio Naduva.
Fiji had just kicked off their tournament against minnows Japan in typical fashion, racing out to a comfortable 22-7 lead midway through the second half to continue the good form they showed en route to claiming the Hamilton Sevens title last weekend.
Up against a tiring defence, the Fijians were keen to add to their lead just after Naduva opened his account for the tournament with a try in the 11th minute.
The re-start from halfway was quickly taken, with the ball being sent deep into opposition territory.
Nobody from Japan was willing to lay claim to the ball, and given how far it had been kicked, the ball seemed destined to bounce over the dead ball line for a 22 metre drop out.
That was until Naduva turned on the afterburners and bolted downfield to produce one of the best tries this year.
The 28-year-old showed immense pace to beat the entire Japanese side and meet the ball just as it was about to bobble out of play inside the opposition's in-goal area.
Naduva refused to let that happen though, and dove towards the ball with his arms outstretched and head tucked in to produce a spectacular somersault which allowed him to plant the ball on the turf just shy of the chalk, scoring one of the more memorable tries in recent memory.
Fiji went on to thrash Japan 34-5, and sit atop of Pool A with three points to their name.
They will close out day one of the tournament with matches against England and Samoa later today.
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Hi Nick. Thanks for your +++ ongoing analysis. Re Vunivalu, He’s been benched recently and it will be interesting to see what Kiss does with him as we enter the backend of SRP. I’m still not sold.
Go to commentsIn the fine tradition of Irish rugby, Leinster cheat well and for some reason only known to whoever referees them, they are allowed to get away with it every single game. If teams have not got the physicality up front to stop them getting the ball, they will win every single game. They take out players beyond the ruck and often hold them on the ground. Those that are beyond the ruck and therefore offside, hover there to cause distraction but also to join the next ruck from the side thereby stopping the jackal. The lineout prior to the second try on Saturday. 3 Leinster players left the lineout before the ball was thrown and were driving the maul as soon as the player hit the ground and thereby getting that valuable momentum. They scrummage illegally, with the looshead turning in to stop the opposing tighthead from pushing straight and making it uncomfortable for the hooker. The tighthead takes a step and tries to get his opposite loosehead to drop the bind. Flankers often ‘move up’ and actually bind on the prop and not remain bound to the second row. It does cause chaos and is done quickly and efficiently so that referees are blinded by the illegal tactics. I am surprised opposition coaches when they meet referees before games don’t mention it. I am also surprised that they do not go to the referees group and ask them to look at the tactics used and referee them properly. If they are the better team and win, fair play but a lot of their momentum is gained illegally and therefore it is not a level playing field.
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