Dan Carter, Richie McCaw and Ma’a Nonu of New Zealand celebrate with the Webb Elis Cup after beating Australia in the 2015 Rugby World Cup Final. Picture: Dan Mullan/Getty Images It is easy to get caught up in the hype around All Black great Ma’a Nonu joining the Sharks. The double World Cup winner with 103 Test caps brings a wealth of experience to a union in dire straits, and he is set towork with the coaching staffto support player development and strengthen the team’s high-performance culture in a mentorship and leadership role.
It is unlikely the 44-year-old will take the field, unless it’s at a time André Esterhuizen is called up to the Springboks and the Sharks find themselves in yet anotherinjury crisis. Nonu played only 11 matches for Toulon last season, and nine were from the bench. But Nonu’s experience is huge for the Sharks, who finished 10th in the United Rugby Championship and seventh in the Currie Cup last year.
They also exited the Champions Cup group stage only to fall in the last 16 of the second-tier Challenge Cup. Head coach JP Pietersen, who took over from John Plumtree mid-season,promised the team would be betternext season. The former Springbok wing, who played against Nonu many times, said the rugby icon would lift the standards at the union.
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But while the traditionally strong Toulon reached the Champions Cup semi-finals, they fell well short in France’s Top 14, finishing ninth despite the All Black’s aid as both player and mentor. And one must remember that the Sharks have had world-class players and coaches at their disposal for years, and still struggled. Springbok captain and Test centurion Siya Kolisi (now departing for the Stormers) and South Africa’s most capped player Eben Etzebeth are living legends of South African rugby, also with two World Cup trophies under their belts.
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