Ma’a Nonu produces biggest blunder of his career in MLR final
The last person anyone would have expected to make a crucial mistake in the opening few minutes of the Major League Rugby final on Saturday was 103-cap All Black and double World Cup winner Ma’a Nonu.
But the San Diego Legion centre produced an error that was by most players’ standards, and certainly by his, simply inexcusable.
Just four minutes into the match, the 41-year-old Nonu was receiving a pass that he has received thousands of times across his career and caught 99.9% of them. This time, however, he failed, and the result was catastrophic.
New England Free Jacks captain Mitch Jacobson pounced on the ball and had a 20 metre run to the line to dot down for the opening points of the match.
New England went on to win the match 25-24, meaning that error at the beginning of the match was crucial.
Take a look:
The @NEFreeJacks have defeated @SDLegion 25-24 to win their first ever MLR Championship Final!
Check out the full match highlights.
📺 @FOXTV | #SDvNE | #QuestForTheShield | #MLR2023 pic.twitter.com/0afy9Rf4Y9
— Major League Rugby (@usmlr) July 8, 2023
“The league extends its congratulations to the Free Jacks’ athletes, coaches, front office, and city of New England for taking home their first-ever MLR Championship Shield,” said MLR CEO Nic Benson after the match. “We are thrilled to see the Free Jacks’ hard work throughout the season culminate with a win at the 2023 Championship Final and lifting the MLR Shield for the first time.”
