Munster be warned - the frightening stats that make Leone Nakarawa a man apart
Racing 92 have a vast collection of high profile stars in their team, notably two-time World Cup winner Dan Carter, but it’s their Fijian second row Leone Nakarawa who has been the standout in their Champions Cup campaign so far, playing every minute in their march to the semi-finals.
His stats are remarkable – he tops in the offload standings with 19, an impressive seven more than second-placed Louis Picamoles, with the in-form Chris Ashton in third place on 11. This marries in with Nakarawa’s high workrate, he is second in the carries charts with 104, just one behind Munster’s number 8 CJ Stander.
The man can shift the gears, he’s the sole forward in the top-five in terms of defenders beaten, joint-fourth on 22 alongside 2018 Natwest 6 Nations top try scorer Jacob Stockdale. Only his fellow countrymen Nemani Nadolo and Josua Tuisova, along with the Ospreys’ Owen Watkin are ahead of him.
His prowess at lineout is illustrated by the fact that he’s fourth in the lineout standings with 31 takes. Top of the pile in that category is Munster’s Peter O’Mahoney on 38 – the lineout battle is just one fascinating subplot to the match in Bordeaux on Sunday. The danger for Munster is that Nakarawa can also lean on the inside knowledge provided by his second row partner Donnacha Ryan.
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In other news: Joe Marler joins The Rugby Pod to discuss Harlequins’ season
Nakarawa’s pedigree is without question, he was named in the team of the tournament after the 2015 Rugby World Cup and one magazine recently ranked him third in the world in their top-100 players.
Success has followed him too – and Munster know first-hand – Nakarawa was man-of-the-match when Glasgow Warriors beat the Irish side 31-13 in the 2015 PRO12 final. He was also a key figure in Fiji’s Sevens team claiming gold at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, scoring a try in the gold medal match.
Munster have been reacquainted with the 30-year-old this season, Nakarawa scored Racing’s only try in their 14-7 defeat at Thomand in Pool 4, and played at number eight in the return, a 34-30 win at the U Arena.
Nakarawa’s try scoring record this season for Racing is also striking, he’s scored once every four games, including in their recent quarter-final win over Clermont Auvergne.
If Munster are to keep the 1.99m, 109kg forward quiet it will go a long way to nullifying their French opponents. However, if Racing do get the upper hand up front Johann van Graan’s side can expect tough day – scrum half Maxime Machenaud’s ability to be able to control affairs at scrum half is well known. He has plenty of options outside him too with Springbok Pat Lambie at 10, while French duo Virimi Vakatawa and Teddy Thomas add pace and power. Such is Racing’s embarrassment of riches, that they can afford to have two All Blacks on the bench, in Carter and Joe Rokocoko.
? COMPO | Racing 92 vs Munster Rugby | #R92MUN
La voilà ! Menée par Maxime Machenaud, découvrez l'équipe du Racing qui affrontera le @Munsterrugby lors de la demi-finale de @ChampionsCup !
Allez Racing ! #RacingFamily pic.twitter.com/l31q8yANNR
— Racing 92 (@racing92) April 20, 2018
Munster in terms of European experience cannot be matched, this will be their 13th semi-final, but Racing themselves reached the 2016 Champions Cup final and certainly won’t be overawed by the occasion on Sunday.
The two matches between the sides have been close this season, but with 36-year-old Carter available to marshal Racing 92 home in the closing stages of this encounter, it could be the factor that swings it the French club’s way, along with having an imposing in-form Fijian forward in their ranks.
You may also like: Ex-Scotland international, Jim Hamilton, travels to Singapore to explore the city and find out more about the rugby scene in the Southeast Asian country. He meets up with the national team captain and several local players.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments