Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

Glasgow Warriors star would 'love' for arrival of former teammate Leone Nakarawa by the New Year

By Online Editors
Former Racing 92 lock Leone Nakarawa. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Glasgow Warriors won’t welcome the return of Fiji star Leone Nakarawa by Christmas, but the club’s co-captain Ryan Wilson is hopeful the prominent second rower will return by the New Year.

ADVERTISEMENT

Talk of a move back to Scotstoun has been prominent since Nakarawa was axed by Top 14 side Racing 92 after he reported two weeks late back for club duties following the World Cup in Japan.

The 31-year-old left for the Paris-based outfit in 2016 after making a name for himself with the Warriors, of whom he made 69 appearances since his debut in 2013 and won a PRO12 title with two years later.

Continue reading below…

Video Spacer

Wilson was also at the forefront of Glasgow’s championship success four years ago, and the Scotland international said he would love nothing more than for his old teammate to return to Scotland as they chase a place in both the PRO14 and Champions Cup knockout stages.

“He’s not coming around for Christmas. He’s away in Fiji at the moment I think. He’s been in touch, I speak to him quite a bit,” Wilson said, according to The Scotsman.

“I’d love to enjoy New Year with him. I’d love more than anything for Leone to come to Glasgow. It would mean everything to the club to have a player like that back here. That would be incredible because he is such an amazing player and a good man as well.”

As it stands at the halfway stage of the season, Glasgow sit two points outside of a play-off berth in their conference in the PRO14, while they remain in firm competition with the likes of Northampton, Munster and Gloucester for a place in the Champions Cup quarter-finals.

ADVERTISEMENT

The acquisition of Nakarawa would significantly bolster their chances of sending outgoing head coach Dave Rennie off to the Wallabies with some silverware, but they have had to fight with clubs from around the world for the Olympic gold medallist’s services.

Sydney-based Super Rugby franchise the Waratahs, embattled Premiership side Wasps and Top 14 play-off contenders Bayonne have all reportedly been interested in the 1.98m, 104kg lock in recent weeks.

Early Premiership contenders Sale Sharks had also previously shown their interest in Nakarawa before dropping out of the race nearly a fortnight ago.

However, a statement released by Bayonne earlier this month indicated that Nakarawa had voiced his intent on re-joining Glasgow, making the Warriors leading contenders to attain the 62-test international’s signature.

ADVERTISEMENT

A return by the New Year could make Nakarawa available for Glasgow’s opening clash of 2020 against Treviso at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo on January 4, but that means he would miss the Warriors’ 1872 Cup derby match against Edinburgh this Saturday.

Rennie’s side overcame their Scottish rivals in a 20-16 home victory over the weekend, and with the return fixture at Murrayfield just five days away, there is plenty to play for in the absence of Nakarawa.

“We wanted an 80-minute performance. In patches we didn’t get it but, for most of it, there was a lot of brutality out there. We are pleased with that,” Wilson told The Scotsman of his side’s win.

“This week we spoke about how important it was, not only for our league but because we didn’t do very well in the 1872 Cup last season and we wanted to make amends for that.”

After back-to-back defeats in front of a home crowd at the hands of Leinster and La Rochelle in both domestic and continental competitions, Wilson was confident Saturday’s success will empower his side of delivering again in the Scottish capital this week.

“We had two losses at home in a row, which is not good enough at all by our standards. I think we will take a massive confidence boost from this game and then use it against them when we go to Murrayfield,” he said.

“It was a bit scrappy [at the weekend], not helped by five yellow cards. But you grind them out and probably feel better after games like those than when you’ve run away with it.”

In other news:

Video Spacer
ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

A
Adrian 1 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

8 Go to comments
T
Trevor 3 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.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 7 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.

29 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Dean Richards set for return to rugby management Dean Richards set for return to rugby management
Search