Ma’a Nonu achieves bizarre career-first at the age of 41 to signal end times
If the sight of a 41-year-old 108kg former All Blacks centre opening the scoring for his side with a drop-goal is not already widely regarded as the greatest sign of the apocalypse, then it should be.
Forget about floods, fires and earthquakes, the sight of Ma’a Nonu opting to score a drop goal rather than smashing into the opposition’s defence is surely the greatest sign that the world has turned upside down, and everything that we knew and trusted has turned to dust.
This is a player that sits in seventh place on Super Rugby’s all-time try scoring chart (with 56 tries) and also has 31 tries for the All Blacks- drop goals have never been an option for Nonu. Then again, at the age of 41 now, he might be thinking about taking it easy, and perhaps that was the best option on Sunday as his San Diego Legion outfit faced the Seattle Seawolves for a place in the Major League Rugby Championship Final.
With more experience of playing in, and reaching, finals than most players in the world, Nonu knows that play-off rugby is a different beast, and that is why he believed a quick three pointer was the best way to break the deadlock at SeatGeek Stadium. The most bizarre thing though is that it has taken him to the age of 41 to score his first ever drop goal. Maybe he is all too aware that his career is coming to an end, and just wanted to tick that one off his list.
San Diego face the New England Free Jacks this Saturday in Chicago in the final, where Nonu might even try his hand at a penalty, maybe a conversion, or, if he is feeling really bold, might even go up in a lineout.
Take a look at his drop goal:
The experienced Ma’a Nonu puts over the first three with a beautiful drop kick!@FS1 | #SDvSEA | #MLR2023 pic.twitter.com/R94CK17QVv
— Major League Rugby (@usmlr) July 2, 2023
