Lieutenant Leone NakarawaOF (born 2 April 1988)[1] is a Fijian rugby union footballer and Olympic gold medalist. He plays as a Second-Row forward for Toulon and represents the Fijian national team in international rugby. He previously played for Glasgow Warriors and is Warrior No. 224. He won the Pro12 with the Glasgow Warriors in 2014–15 and re-signed with the club in 2020. Inbetween that period, in 2016 he signed for Racing 92. In 2018 he was awarded the EPCR Player of the Year accolade.[2]
Nakarawa is generally considered to be one of the best lock forwards in the world.[3] He is most famous for his offloading skills, athleticism and general play in open field.
Rugby Union career
Amateur career
While with the Warriors he occasionally turned out for the amateur club Glasgow Hawks.[4]
Nakarawa moved to Racing 92 after the World Cup.
After his first season in France, Nakarawa was named in the Pro12 Dream Team at the end of the 2015/16 season.
In December 2019 Racing 92 announced his contract had been terminated for "a total lack of team spirit and marked insubordination" and "abandoning his post' after he failed to return from World Cup duty on time.[6]
On 2 January 2020 Glasgow Warriors announced that they had signed Nakarawa on a contract to the end of the 2019-20 season.[7] This was then extended to the following season.
On Jan 27th 2021 he signed on a one year contract with Pro14 side Ulster that would have seen him play in Belfast from the start of the 2021-22 season.[8] However this deal fell through on 10 June 2021 with the Ulster club stating "We can today confirm that, on receipt of a detailed medical report following an examination by the club at the weekend, Leone Nakarawa will no longer be joining Ulster Rugby for next season."[9]Toulon signed the player in June 2021.[10]
In 2011, New Zealand had to make an exemption to their ban on Fiji Military personnel entering the country in order for Nakarawa to play in the World Cup games. He later quit the army to focus fully on his rugby career.[11]
Nakarawa played for Fiji Barbarians and resisted moves to France and England; not moving to Europe until signing his first professional contract with Glasgow Warriors.[12]
After a hugely successful season, Nakarawa was selected to play for Fijian national team at the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England. He was subsequently named in the World Cup Dream Team at the end of the tournament.[13]
At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Nakarawa was part of the Fiji team in rugby sevens, where he scored a try in the final in a one-sided 43-7 victory over Great Britain to claim the gold medal, which was also Fiji's first ever Olympic medal in any sport.
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