Portait. Top 14 – King Leone continues to work his magic in Castres

He is part of this rare caste of players, those for whom rugby seems easy, instinctive, innate. To be honest, if Leone Nakarawa had been born an Italian cyclist, we would have said of him that he was a “fuoriclasse”, an absolute gifted man. And even if it would take two Italian cyclists to equal his 127 kg and his native island is located far from the sweetness of Tuscany, that does not detract from his talent and the feeling that the good fairies have looked into his cradle to give it that little extra something that makes it unique.

Because at 36 years old (he will be 37 in April), Leone Nakarawa is still an extraordinary player, capable of evolving at a stratospheric level when the planets align and the magic happens. He succeeds in squaring the circle by being a hybrid player, capable of freeing himself from the duties of his second line position while transforming himself into a magician attacker who has no equal to bring the team to life. ball after him. Leone's “special” is the post-contact pass, the “offload” in the language of Shakespeare. Few people on the rugby planet can boast of mastering this weapon in the arsenal as well as he does. The figures bear this out: during the last financial year, he was the player to achieve the most, with forty-three goals for twenty-five matches played. This season, he has already placed fifteen, the second best total in the division after nine matches, just behind Lyon's Davit Niniashvili and Semi Radradra who have both had sixteen. But the Lyonnais and the Toulonnais played 580 and 430 minutes respectively, compared to only 380 for the Castres giant. “It was during my time in Glasgow that I really developed this ability, explains Leone. Gregor Townsend, my coach at the time, kept telling me that it was a good way to beat defenders. I think he was right. And then, there’s no secret, I get a lot of help from my height…”

I admit, it was above all to be able to buy a house that I switched from a military career to a life as a rugby player. You had to make money quickly

Indeed, you have to see him attack the line with his large double-meter compasses, the ball often held in just one of his hands as large as bats, wrapping his arms similar to two powerful pythons around the opponent's body to deliver, with the force of the wrist, a key pass, one of those which unlocks a situation and breaks the barriers of the most seasoned defenses. It has been a long time since we stopped counting, in Tarn, the number of trials which are directly attributable to one of its class actions. Nakarawa is indeed King Leone.

However, he, the child of Tavua, did not think he had a particular talent and even less a career in rugby: “I started playing ball when I was in elementary school, in Matanaga, in the Vatukoula region. At first, I played just for fun and because rugby is the flagship sport in our country, remembers the colossus. I idolized certain players who made the legend of Fijian rugby like Vilimoni Delasau, Rupeni Caucaunibuca, Waisale Serevi or Viliame Satala…”

Military prison and gold at VII

It was therefore a close call for us to never see its large carcass unfold in our latitudes. Life was tough in Fiji at the turn of the 2000s. You had to earn a living and Leone Nakarawa, from 2007 to 2013, was above all a soldier engaged in the Fijian “Army Green”. At the time, all that mattered to him was being able to build a home for his family. “I was a soldier before leaving for Glasgow to play rugby. I admit, it was above all to be able to buy a house that I switched from a military career to a life as a rugby player. I had to win money quickly and rugby was the only way for me to achieve it.” Selected to participate in the 2011 World Cup, the Fijian colossus must temporarily resign from the army, New Zealand banning the entry of Fijian soldiers into its soil since a dark coup d'état dating from 2006. Two years later , when his performances catch the eye of European recruiters, everything becomes complicated. Leone must resign from the army, permanently, this time. He will be confined for three weeks in the equivalent of a military prison and will have the obligation to help the base team win an important match to be able to leave his prison condition! More than a decade after his life change, we can say that Leone was not wrong. Fed up with rugby sevens, which he watched compulsively on TV when he was young, he touched his Holy Grail by becoming Olympic champion in the discipline in 2016, “the best memory of my life”he still assures. At the same time, Leone impresses at XV. He travels across Europe, from Glasgow to Racing 92, the club with which he will receive the title of best player in the Old Continent in 2017. Just that.

Bet won for Castres

Except that when arriving at Castres in 2022, recruiting Leone Nakarawa, who has been a Toulon player since 2020, is in fact a dangerous bet. For more than a year, he has been out of stock in the Var. The Fijian giant is well over 30 years old and is starting to look his age, wandering the harbor like a lost soul, only participating in ten RCT matches in all competitions… It is then said of him that his time has passed and that he will never again be that second line who electrifies the crowds. “We're not going to lie to each other: my period in Toulon was not the best of my career, rebuke Nakarawa. I didn't enjoy it there and I didn't end my adventure well. Besides, when I left Toulon, I got married and I was thinking of stopping rugby, retiring and enjoying my family. I was planning my honeymoon when I received a call from the CO, who showed interest in me. In the back of my mind, I always dreamed of winning the Top 14 and I think that Castres is a club capable of achieving it… I didn't hesitate long to commit…”

He is both aerial and terrestrial, he jumps into touch and pushes hard in melee. There's no real debate: at the peak of his form, he was the best second row in the world

Pierre-Henry Broncan, manager of the CO at the time of the Fijian's signing, remembers this gamble attempted and largely successful. “He's a very unusual player, let's not be afraid of words, immediately asks the one who is now the manager of Brive. Leone is an Olympic sevens rugby champion who plays second row in XV… That is to say he combines the qualities of both sports. He has phenomenal hands, he runs fast, he is powerful and he has this ability to make plays after him that very few other players have. He is both aerial and terrestrial, he jumps into touch but pushes hard in melee. There's no real debate: at the peak of his form, he was the best second row in the world. And I even think he would have been a fabulous number 8, given his technical qualities. But no coach dares to deprive himself of his push in closed scrum. When we hired him in Castres, we weren't sure of anything. He had missed his visit to Toulon and during our first pre-season friendly match, he injured his shoulder. I had a few cold sweats. But I was very quickly reassured. He's a boy who knows his body, who worked alone to come back and in the end he gave us a huge season.” How was Castres able to restart the Fijian machine, which nevertheless seemed to be stuck? “I think that Leone is a man who works on emotion. In Racing, in Toulon, which are big cities, there was less of the family side that Leone is looking for. Castres is quite the opposite. feels a little at home in the Tarn and that makes all the difference. He's a guy who needs to feel confident to express himself.” What the main interested party confirms: “Castres is a quiet town that lives for its rugby club. There isn't much else to do other than play and take care of my family. It's very healthy.”

But ultimately, when explaining why he still seems to have his 20-year-old legs even though he's almost 20 years old twice, Leone Nakarawa doesn't hide behind his healthy lifestyle and hard-working nature. Very pious, he thinks that his longevity comes from God. On this subject, everyone will have their own opinion…

C'est LeBron Nakarawa, bro!

When asking Leone about his best rugby player anecdote, he spontaneously recounts this adventure, which he experienced in a Korean airport, during a transit to his native island: “I was standing in line in this terminal to get my passport stamped and I was wearing a Cleveland basketball jersey (an NBA franchise, the North American basketball championship, Editor’s note). I had grown my beard and wore a hat. I caught the eye of a man, on the other side of the line, who was staring at me and smiling. I thought he was “flirting” with someone behind me in line, so I turned around to see who it could be and… I was last! There was no one behind me. Once my passport was validated, the guy who was looking at me rushed towards me, laughing nervously. He told me: “LeBron! Can I take a picture with you and get your autograph please?” There, I burst out laughing and replied: “Sorry, but I'm not LeBron James (world basketball star)I'm just a rugby player!”