'Unfit chubby n*****' - Nadolo on racism in rugby, traditional healers and why he quit Fiji
The immense toll of professional rugby catches up with everyone sooner or later, even those as mighty as Nemani Nadolo.
At only 31, the Fijian totem and Montpellier galactico has retired from the international game, his hulking form beginning to fray under the relentless strain of performing for club and country.
Nadolo is a brilliant footballer with plenty miles left on the clock but he is not a robot. The Top 14 is long and punishing and he has come to feel like hamster on a wheel that never stops spinning.
The winger’s toil, of course, is handsomely rewarded by Mohed Altrad. His lifestyle in the south of France is barely the picture of hardship either, but eventually, his body has started to crack and his mind grown weary.
Nadolo’s season has been dogged by a persistent knee injury and it speaks volumes about how brutal rugby can be that even the lure of the World Cup and the joy of playing for his islands and his people on the grandest stage of all was not sufficient to delay retirement.
“I could’ve waited ‘til after the World Cup but it just felt right to do it now. It felt like a big burden off me. Probably the last 10-11 months I’ve been thinking about it,” he says.
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“The amount of rugby I’ve played in the last four years has taken its toll on my body. I went from Super Rugby [with the Crusaders in 2016] straight to French rugby and not really having a rest, then from that into internationals. In two seasons, I’ve played 50-odd club games alone. Along the way, I picked up a lot of niggles and injuries. This season, everything probably caught up with me.
“The Top 14 is a slog; you’re playing 28 games, then Champions Cup. If you’re a foreign player, you’re going to get played a lot.
“You’ve got to find your way to keep getting yourself back up and doing the same thing. It’s a very physical game here, but it’s also one of the toughest comps I’ve played in mentally.
“As players, we know what we sign ourselves up for, but it’s not until you get here that you experience it. I’m used to it now, there are ways you can get yourself up and learn to chill out, but it’s a different world over here.”
Nadolo knows he is lucky to be where he is, wealthy and revered. He signed a new contract in September but virulently refutes any notion Montpellier pressured or incentivised him to give up playing for Fiji.
“Giving the international scene a knock on the head was going to allow me to not only start thinking about stuff like that, but just enjoy my rugby.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed every minute playing for Fiji and it’s always been an honour, but I think doing this will add a few more years to my career. It’s one of those decisions where you sometimes find you have to be selfish about it, as bad as that sounds. At the end of the day, it’s you that’s going to be going through all of it.
“People talk about, maybe he got a little paycheque, a little bonus here and there to retire, but I can honestly say that’s not true. I would never, ever stop playing for my country for money. It’s never been about the money.”
Seeking a lasting cure for his troublesome knee, Nadolo returned to his roots. He spent four days on the archipelago last week to harness the restorative powers of a traditional Fijian healer.
Waisake Naholo, the All Blacks wing born in the same province as Nadolo, famously made a Lazarus-like recovery from a broken leg after visiting a healer before the 2015 World Cup. England centre Manu Tuilagi said a “witch-doctor” in Samoa helped him banish the malevolent spirits that inflicted a barrage of injuries upon him.
“I hate saying it’s the witch-doctor – we definitely don’t call it that – but it’s someone with special healing powers. Funnily enough, I went there, got my knee done, and it’s heaps better. I’ve started running already,” Nadolo says.
“They oil and rub your knee. They massaged and prayed over it for a whole day. Then they put thirty slits in my leg, put a cup over it, all this blood comes out. It was a three-day procedure.
“We grew up on this. Whenever something happened to us, there was a certain thing you’d drink or a certain thing they’d do to your body. I didn’t really tell the club, I just went, came back and told them – nothing was going to stop me whether they said yes or no, because I know this has worked.
“It’s something we’ve grown up on, a cultural point of view, and the club respect it.”
Respect is held dear in rugby, a sport that can be quick to seize the moral high ground and preach its values. Generally, those tenets hold firm. But stories emerge that abhor us all.
In 2014, while playing for the Crusaders, Nadolo says he was called an “unfit chubby n*****” in a Christchurch bar. While out with his family in France last year, a drunken fan allegedly described his match-winning performance against Clermont as “not bad for a monkey”. More recently, former Springbok wing Ashwin Willemse walked out of the SuperSport studio while live on air after comments from co-analysts Nick Mallett and Naas Botha he felt were “rooted in racism”, and Ulster handed a lifetime ban to a supporter who racially abused Racing 92’s Simon Zebo in a Champions Cup match.
Nadolo says racism and discrimination has “always been there” in rugby but is “starting to get unearthed” with the growth of social media.
“There have always been idiots talking. Usually they’re far away from you on the field. What I find really amusing is they don’t own up to it [afterwards] – it’s just gutless people.
“We’re not only dealing with racism now, we’re dealing with homophobia. We need to come out with a commercial – and I’ve yet to see one –around racism and equality, making rugby a safe place.
“There’s always more we can do, always. Why can’t we all do it, get together, get some of the leading rugby players, black, white, gay, lesbian, whatever, and do something about it. Let people know that rugby is for everyone – we talk a lot about it but not much is done.”
In an illuminating column posted in 2015 (link for embedding: ), the New Zealand Herald addressed the issue of overt “racial stereotyping”. It cited an article by Auburn University professor John Carvalho, which “outlined four separate American studies that looked at the language of professional sports reporting. In short, the findings were all similar: white players have the intelligence, black players have the physical attributes.”
In the build-up to Fiji’s 2015 World Cup opener against England, Nadolo was asked to pose for a photograph cradling the journalist who had just interviewed him. The story was flattering and the image may seem a harmless and striking method of depicting the winger’s size. It is hard, though, to imagine George North, Brodie Retallick, or Richie Gray being asked to perform a similarly gratuitous display of strength.
“Every time I see that photo, I’m like, ‘what an idiot’. I kept saying I didn’t want to do it. That incident did really annoy me,” Nadolo recalls.
“It’s always about being big or too big. As long as it’s not offensive, I’m cool with it. The moment you start talking smack or being smart about it, I’m going to call you out.”
Nadolo has never shirked “calling out” injustice.
The plight of young, duped and destitute Pacific Islanders, adrift and lonely beneath the poverty line in the French lower leagues is well-documented, and sometimes bears tragic consequences. In November 2016, Fijian prop Isireli Temo committed suicide in France. He was playing for third-tier side Tarbes.
Nadolo dedicates what time he can to supporting and giving a “voice” to his countrymen in need, as one of six representatives of the tremendous Pacific Rugby Players Welfare group based in France.
“A lot of clubs in France don’t obey the rules or don’t pay their players. That’s where we come in and we work with Provale [the French players union] and the Rugby Players Association in England. We represent our country and our people here,” Nadolo says.
“They’re shy, they’re young, they don’t know what to do. They come over here on a hope and a prayer. A lot of the time in France, the clubs tell you one thing and do the other – that’s where the Fijian boys go wrong. They’re promised they’ll be looked after and they get over here and they’re scrambling to find a place or a pair of boots.
“Just the other day, I had a kid who plays for a Federale 2 [fourth-tier] club down here who needed some boots. It was as simple as going down the local rugby store and getting a pair of boots and putting them in the mail.
“As Fijians, we’re a culture that we help each other out, and if needs be, we reach into our pockets. We’re all they have here.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Best team ever…. To have played? These guys are still pressure chokers. Came nowhere when it counted. What a joke
68 Go to commentsMusk defends anonymous terrorism, fascism, threats against individuals and children etc etc But a Rugby club account….lock ‘em up!!!
1 Go to commentsActually the era defining moment came a few years earlier. February 2002 to be precise, when Michael D Higgins as finance minister at the time introduced his sports persons tax relief bill to the dial. As the politicians of the day stated “It seems to be another daft K Club frolic born in Kildare amongst the well-paid professional jockeys with whom the Minister plays golf” and that the scheme represented “a savage uncaring vision of Ireland and one that should be condemned”. The irfu and Leinster would be nowhere near the position they are in today without this key component of the finances.
2 Go to commentsIt is crystal clear that people who make such threats on line should be tried and imprisoned. Those with responsibility in social media companies who don’t facilitate this should be convicted. In real life, I have free speech to approach someone like Reinach and verbally threaten him. I am risking a conviction or a slap but I could do it. In the old days, If someone anonymously threatened someone by letter the police would ask and use evidence from the postal system. Unlike the Post, social media companies have complete instant and legal access to the content in social media. They make money from the data, billions. Yet, they turn a blind eye to terrorism, Nazi-ism and industrial levels of threats against individuals including their address and childrens schools being published online all from ananoymous accounts not real speech. They claim free speech. The fault is with the perps but also social media companies who think anonymous personas posting death threats constitutes free speech.
2 Go to commentsSo if this ain’t the best Irish team ever then who exactly is? I don’t remember any other Irish team being this good & winning a series in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Yes I may rip them often for 8 X QF RWC exits & twice not even making it to the QF, but they’re a damn good team who many think can only improve, including me!
68 Go to commentsNot a squeek out of Leinster for weeks about this match. So quiet. The first team have been quitely building for this encounter under Nienaber’s direction. All fresh, all highly motivated. They are expecting a season’s best performance from Northhampton. They will match that. They will be fresher and apparently they will have 80,000 out of the 83,000 shouting for them. I do expect Northhampton to turn up big time. Not to be missed. On a tangent it is evident how the loss of a few Premiership teams has in some respect helped other Premiership teams and England. More quality over less teams makes the teams better, which has a knock on effect on England. Not the only factor contributing to England’s rise but one of them.
2 Go to commentsOur very own monster teddy bear Ox😍💪
17 Go to commentsThis is might be the most generalised, entitled, patronising, out-of-pocket cultural indictment on a group of people you’ll ever see on what is supposedly a sports publication. I can only assume the author is weak like a woman or homosexual. I’m feeling an incredible range of emotions but I am not quite sure how to express them. I might go beat up a hockey player - assuming that’s okay with Duane and the boys? 🙂
9 Go to commentsBest thing the Welsh clubs could do is apply to join Gallagher prem surely be more exciting matches for there support than they have now.
2 Go to commentsRugbyPass writers are useless! you guys should get a real job because you all suck at writing about rugby!!!
9 Go to commentslooking forward to RWC2027 …. Boks on mission impossible for the Three-in-a-row, ABs to prove they being on par, France wishing to crown the “DuPont-era”, Ireland knocking on the Semi-Door ….. until then we’ll probably have to deal with Weird Ben’s fantasy-RWC23 (fun fact is, the drivel always creates a flooding of comments) …..
221 Go to commentsBen Smith you really make some good points in this article, the Springboks were not close to perfect and good still beat the All Blacks, imagine if they were as good as they were against France what a hiding the All Blacks would have gotten… maybe another Twickenham drubbing
221 Go to commentsIt is a good argument to keep the Rebels for one more year but also isnt this just opening the door as well for keeping them beyond 2025. If they can create some sort of financial stability in the next year and if their performances lift as they have this season then how would RA even cull them after that? It might be the most cost effective decision at this stage and perhaps many people are guilty of keeping relationships going because of the cost to decouple but then again when does that ever work out well?
28 Go to commentsDear Ben Smith you are a genius! God please become the next all blacks coach that can take on the mighty BOKS. Your rugby acumen is second to none - imagine your dads sperm bounced as unfortunately as that oval ball did….we would not be blessed with your presence. Just as the all blacks were missing a man you too are missing a chromosome for 80% of your life, so your insights are not only profound but ring true from your own experiences. Just as the TMO interfered with citing an illegal pass I am sure your local authorities interfere with your illegal passes you make on women - How dare they!!! God forbid that rugby be officiated fairly. You are the right man for the job. Next all blacks coach is here ladies and gentlemen Miss Ben Smith (He/She/They/IT)
221 Go to commentsHuge engine this guy and great to see him back ..The amount of clean outs he does at the ruck are ridiculous !!
3 Go to commentsThe level of desperation in this article is just embarrassing.
221 Go to commentsSome silly trolling in the comments.
9 Go to commentsEverywhere you turn some irish journo is advocating Ireland as the greatest, reasoning that the wc is a 4 year cycle event so, they say wc doesn’t matter it’s the rugby in between that should account for the accolade. If there was no wc then some substance could be gained, however in my opinion the moment that defined Ireland’s fate against the abs was 37 phases of repeated head bashing against a brick wall. If a change in strategy or a tinker with the game plan was executed then things could've been vastly different. And to point a finger the let down was in the hands of the number 10.
68 Go to commentsI have heard it asked if RA is essentially one of the part owners and I suppose therefor should be on the other side of these two parties. If they purchased the rebels and guaranteed them, and are responsible enough they incur Rebels penalties, where is this line drawn? Seems rough to have to pay a penalty for something were your involvement sees you on the side of the conned party, the creditors. If the Rebels directors themselves have given the club their money, 6mil worth right, why aren’t they also listed as sitting with RA and the Tax office? And the legal threat was either way, new Rebels or defunct, I can’t see how RA assume the threat was less likely enough to warrant comment about it in this article. Surely RA ignore that and only worry about whether they can defend it or not, which they have reported as being comfortable with. So in effect wouldn’t it be more accurate to say there is no further legal threat (or worry) in denying the deal. Unless the directors have reneged on that. > Returns of a Japanese team or even Argentinean side, the Jaguares, were said to be on the cards, as were the ideas of standing up brand new teams in Hawaii or even Los Angeles – crazy ideas that seemingly forgot the time zone issues often cited as a turn-off for viewers when the competition contained teams from South Africa. Those timezones are great for SR and are what will probably be needed to unlock its future (cant see it remaining without _atleast _help from Aus), day games here are night games on the West Coast of america, were potential viewers triple, win win. With one of the best and easiest ways to unlock that being to play games or a host a team there. Less good the further across Aus you get though. Jaguares wouldn’t be the same Jaguares, but I still would think it’s better having them than keeping the Rebels. The other options aren’t really realistic 25’ options, no. From reading this authors last article I think if the new board can get the investment they seem to be confident in, you keeping them simply for the amount of money they’ll be investing in the game. Then ditch them later if they’re not good enough without such a high budget. Use them to get Jaguares reintergration stronger, with more key players on board, and have success drive success.
28 Go to commentsYeah, and ours is waaay bigger than yours. Just as you's get a semi…oh hold on that never happens
68 Go to comments