There is a danger Glasgow is seen as a retirement home for fondly remembered veterans, but Nakarawa remains a unique game-breaking weapon
Just as Warriors fans feared there was more chance of Danny Wilson announcing a new clothing line than a significant addition to his Guinness PRO14 squad, along came a whopper that changes the narrative around a vital summer of recruitment. In convincing Leone Nakarawa, the colossal Fijian lock, to spend another year at Scotstoun, Glasgow have pulled off a hugely important capture.
How often can it be said that a truly world-class athlete is not only playing his club rugby in Scotland but choosing that club above a host of richer and more storied suitors? Even at 32, Nakarawa falls firmly into the world-class bracket.
Glasgow – and in particular Gregor Townsend – invested a heap of time in getting the best out of him in his first spell at Warriors, coaxing phenomenal talent from the softly-spoken juggernaut.
In doing so, deep bonds and a dear love for the city were forged and a PRO12 title emphatically clinched. This connection brought the Fijian back for a second (and now a third spell) at a place and a club where he feels cherished. Generic talk of culture abounds these days, but it reflects extremely well on successive Glasgow environments that Nakarawa has chosen to return – and stay put – after his rancorous departure from Racing 92.
As things now stand, Wilson’s three frontline locks are Scott Cummings, Richie Gray and Nakarawa. That is a brilliant array, with young Hamish Bain likely to follow, and the possible retention of Kiran McDonald, who did a fine job last term.
?? Danny Wilson know's all about Leone Nakarawa's abilities
Find out what he had to say on Nakarawa's decision to remain at the club: https://t.co/HcX5NwG16q
???? pic.twitter.com/Z1p29jTLwM
— Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) June 24, 2020
Cummings is a supreme athlete with a massive engine, pace and footballing skill around the paddock, a leader in the lineout and one of the premier young second rows in the league. Gray seems to be over the injuries that dogged him in France having helped Toulouse decimate the Top 14 a year ago. His credentials are blaring and he will have designs on winning back his place in the national team.
As for Nakarawa, it is not merely what the hulking lock brings to the table with his outrageous skill set, intelligence and versatility, but what he inspires in those around him. Accurate offloads win games, sloppy off-loads lose them.
Soon after Nakarawa arrived this year on a short-term deal, Glasgow went from the eleventh-highest offloaders in the PRO14 to the top of the charts. He only played in two league games, yet his fingerprints were all over Glasgow’s improving form.
“The biggest thing about him is he brings confidence to people around him,” said outgoing Warriors attack coach Jason O’Halloran to RugbyPass last week. “I know Leone throws the odd loose offload, but all of a sudden guys are thinking about moving the ball in the tackle straight away.
“Our offload numbers went up, but our offload accuracy was always above 80 per cent and that’s a key threshold for us. If we’re making twelve offloads, we want nine or ten of those to stick. As important a weapon as an offload is, it will also kill you if you throw dusty ones.”
If Glasgow are serious about winning titles and making deeper inroads in Europe while inexorably losing their prime Scottish talent, then Nakarawa is the kind of player they need. They couldn’t keep Jonny Gray forever, but what a boon to be able to replace him with his elder brother and one of the most coveted forwards in world rugby.
Might having Nakarawa signed up now catch the eye of other high-calibre targets? Might Glasgow’s reputation for developing and looking after its Pacific Islanders lead to the arrival of more Fijian gems?
There is big excitement around Jale Vakaloloma, the massive back row Dave Rennie signed from Australia’s National Rugby Championship, after his maiden season was entirely scuppered by injury. The story goes that Rennie had to fight hard to keep him, with Scottish Rugby minded to call off the move when he arrived in Glasgow with a serious injury.
"And are you going to shell out £300-400k for a slightly-better-than-mediocre Super Rugby player, or do you develop young guys?"
Jason O'Halloran talks realpolitik with @JLyall93 ; recruitment, Scottish academies, Nakarawa & Borders talent going to waste https://t.co/0lJ8TI49ef
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 21, 2020
Nobody is asking Warriors to sign two World Cup winners, as Munster have done in RG Snyman and Damian de Allende, or fork out eye-watering cash for a mediocre Kiwi. If, for instance, you can pay Glenn Bryce in the region of £50,000 a year, is a solid Super Rugby alternative worth the £300,000-plus asking price?
Is he six or seven times the player of Bryce? Does he bring enough value off the field in the currency of cultural input, fresh thinking, work ethic, intelligence and personality to justify the outlay?
On their budget, Glasgow have to get these decisions right and they didn’t do that often enough in the old Rennie era. Through injuries or non-selection, too many overseas signings failed to hit the mark – Lelia Masaga, Samu Vunisa, Tevita Tameilau, Nick Frisby, Siua Halanukonuka have all come and gone without yielding the desired impact.
In fact, some of the best Rennie acquisitions were returning players. Among the most impressive were DTH van der Merwe and Ruaridh Jackson, with Niko Matawalu, Nakarawa and now the elder Gray coming back for more too.
TRY! "That was all about Leone Nakarawa!"
Glasgow strike first in Belfast.
? #WarriorsReloaded | Watch Munster v Glasgow Warriors live on Facebook and YouTube, powered by @SPEnergyNetwork pic.twitter.com/ccue7wEJTf
— Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) June 21, 2020
The danger in this is that Glasgow become seen as a retirement home for fondly remembered veterans, but each has brought valuable contributions. There are caveats to the Nakarawa clamour, of course. Firstly, he has only signed a one-year deal and we’re not entirely sure what the end of the current season and pattern of the next is going to look like just yet.
You could argue that Glasgow would have been better served to invest his sizeable salary in other areas of the squad that might yield a more sustained return, but you’d be wrong. Even a year of Nakarawa is money well spent.
Secondly, the lock is back home in Fiji awaiting the birth of his child and is not due in Scotland until August, weeks before the PRO14 is scheduled to resume with some meaty inter-pro derby action. Away from the Glasgow conditioners and amid the stresses of prospective fatherhood, how close to playing, physically and tactically, will Nakarawa be when he returns to the country?
He hadn’t played in three months when he re-signed for Warriors in January and yet was deemed ready to start a must-win European trip to Sale Sharks less than two weeks after fetching up. He shouldn’t take long to get up to speed.
He doesn’t fix all of Glasgow’s problems. He doesn’t assuage the need for another bruiser in the back row or another option at fly-half or first-choice full-back. But he is a unique game-breaking weapon. Even in these coronavirus-ravaged times, another year of prime Nakarawa is an exhilarating prospect.
Thanks @JLyall93 for taking time to go through this with me during the week – tough to revisit at times. During this incredibly difficult period it's important to realise that it's OK not to be OK and things will get better. https://t.co/pzOt3HGNVr
— Graeme Morrison (@gmorri) April 12, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
16 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to comments