The dreadlocked and occasional eyeliner-wearing All-Blacks centre was a key figure in New Zealand’s scrappy quarter-final win over Argentina.
Sonny Bill Williams may be the hottest thing in rugby right now, but there’s a reason why he’s been fitted into a square hole on the All-Black wing as opposed to being given his favoured inside centre berth.
The reason is Ma’a Nonu and any uninformed observers that saw the dreadlocked winger against Argentina in the World Cup quarter-final may begin to understand just why Graham Henry has given him the number 12 jersey rather than jump wholeheartedly on the Sonny Bill bandwagon, ridiculously talented and all as he is.
At times against Argentina, New Zealand struggled to assert their authority. Badly missing Dan Carter’s influence as the pivot in midfield, the All-Blacks huffed and puffed in the first half, but only had four Piri Weepu penalties to show for their efforts in a half where the outstanding contribution was undoubtedly the magnificent try scored by Puma hooker Julio Farias Cabello.
In the second half, with the Argies starting to tire, the hosts began to make some headway and their over-expectant followers started to find their voice in Eden Park. Time and again, Nonu was their go-to man and he didn’t disappoint.
A bit like Jamie Roberts against Ireland yesterday, Nonu consistently broke the gain line with powerful bursts abetted by some fancy footwork and more often than not, it took two or more men to pin him down.
He also used to wear eyeliner on the pitch. Not sure how well that would go down in Thomond Park.
He was centrally involved in both All-Back tries, although there was more than a degree of fortune to the second one, when Nonu’s kick was blocked straight into the path of a New Zealand man and veteran Brad Thorn eventually touched down.
Still the bit of luck was no more than Nonu deserved as the All-Blacks march onto what should be an exhilarating semi-final against Australia next weekend. Indeed it could well have been the final had Ireland not gone and beaten the Wallabies earlier in the tournament. Unfortunately for us, it proved to be our defining match of the tournament and we couldn’t reproduce the level of quality and intensity required in the knockout stages.
There had been speculation that Nonu may hook up with Munster after the World Cup, but his link up with the Wellington Lions after a controversial sacking from the Hurricanes means that the Munster faithful will be denied the chance to see him in a red jersey.
Maybe it’s no bad thing though. Nonu has always been a spiky figure and is something of a yellow card magnet on the pitch. Furthermore, he was accused of undermining Hurricanes coach Mark Hammett in the dressing room before being sent packing in the summer.
He also used to wear eyeliner on the pitch. Not sure how well that would go down in Thomond Park!
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