Isa Nacewa
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Weight | 188 kg (29 st 8 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Isakeli Nacewa (born 22 July 1982 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born rugby union footballer of Fijian descent. He is a utility back and represents Leinster Rugby in the Magners League and Heineken Cup competitions. He previously represented the Blues in the Super Rugby competition and Auckland in the Air New Zealand Cup. He has also represented Fiji at international level.
One of the stand-out players for Auckland in their 2005 NPC-winning season, Nacewa is a speedy and versatile player who can play as an outside back or centre. He also proved that he can play as a first five-eighth when he covered successfully for the injured Luke McAlister during the 2006 Super 14 season.
Born and raised in New Zealand, Nacewa qualified to play for Fiji through his ancestral links. He was included in Fiji's squad for the 2003 Rugby World Cup and came on as a substitute against Scotland. In 2006, he quit the Fiji national team as he wanted his eligibility changed from Fiji to New Zealand. But due to IRB law, his appearance for Fiji in the World Cup made him ineligible for the All Blacks, Nacewa considered legal advice to persuade the IRB to annul his Fiji cap[1], however the IRB has since ruled that Nacewa is a Fijian citizen and has played for Fiji during the 2003 Rugby World Cup, making him only eligible to play for Fiji[2].
In the 2007 Super 14 coach David Nucifora trialled him in their first match against the Crusaders at Fly-half in place of first-choice Luke McAlister who was out because of an injury. Nacewa played so well that Nucifora decided to play him at number 10 and when McAlister returned he was placed in his favorite position at inside centre in order to cater for Nacewa. The Blues defeated the defending champions and Nacewa scored 19 points. In the 2007 Air New Zealand Cup, Nacewa was voted the player of the tournament after guiding his Auckland team to another thrilling victory and thus winning the coveted Air New Zealand Cup in another thriller defeating finalist Wellington.
In 2008 he moved to Ireland to represent Leinster Rugby, and since his arrival has made quite an impression, scoring two tries in his opening game for the province. However, he suffered a setback when he sustained a broken arm in the win over the Ospreys on September 19th, a game in which he scored two drop goals.
He returned for the later stages of the Heineken Cup pool stages and played on the right wing in the quarter-final victory over Harlequins but moved to full-back for the semi-final against Munster with great success. The Irish Times said of his performance "Nacewa’s selection at fullback was vindicated for his stunning line and pass for D’Arcy’s opening try. But there was so much more than that as well: his security and strength at the back, his counter-attacking runs, his passing and kicking.(1)
References
- ^ "Nacewa plays a waiting game". fijitimes.com. Retrieved 22 July.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Only Fiji, Nacewa told". fijivillage.com. Retrieved 22 July.
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1. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2009/0504/1224245891048.html