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Family affair at Montpellier with Nadolo's brother arriving as medical joker

By Online Editors
Kurisi Kuridrani. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Montpellier have beefed up for their run-in to the end of the Top 14 season with an interesting choice of a medical joker. 

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Vern Cotter’s side have been enduring a miserable season, knocked out of the Champions Cup with a defeat at Edinburgh while their inconsistent league form sees them placed in ninth spot nine points outside the sixth and final play-off spot. 

That has led to speculation that the future of Cotter, who arrived in summer 2017, is under threat as last year’s Top 14 finalists have nose-dived this term despite their budget being one of the biggest in France. 

They didn’t have to search to far to compensate for the absence of Benjamin Fall, who has suffered a foot fracture. Needing to quickly solve an emergency, they turned to Chris Kuridrani who is the younger brother of Nemani Nadolo.

The Brisbane-born 27-year-old, who can double job on the wing and at full-back, is a former Queensland Reds Super Rugby player who has also had a stint in Japan with the Honda Heat. 

(Continue reading below…)

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Standing at 1.9 metres and weighing 100kgs, he is the younger brother of Nadolo, the Fijian flyer who recently announced his retirement from international rugby in advance of this year’s World Cup in Japan (Nadolo is his Nemani’s mother’s maiden name). 

“I’ve been thinking about this decision for 12 months,” said Nadolo when explaining his reason to concentrate on playing only for Montpellier. 

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“I called the club two days before making it public. Everyone was surprised, shocked. He [Vern Cotter] was looking for a joker to replace me during the World Cup.

“When I played last June, I had a thought: if you wake up one day and you hesitate about your job, it is the moment to stop. This is what happened to me with the Fijian team, whereas I feel that I still have a lot to give in Montpellier.” 

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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