Nemani Nadolo makes England international look like a child as he bulldozes over him
Northampton Saints and England’s 81 kg scrum-half Alex Mitchell found himself in a position that absolutely no rugby player ever wants to find themselves in on Friday night at Welford Road.
That position specifically is trying to stop the 123 kg Fijian powerhouse Nemani Nadolo from about two feet out after the winger had built up a head of steam. It is fair to say that it did not end well for Mitchell, who perhaps gave a fairly half hearted attempt to stop Nadolo and subsequently found himself flying in the opposite direction after going high on the 6 foot 5 inch back.
To be fair to Mitchell, he could not go low in this situation as Nadolo would still have had enough momentum to go over the line. He had to go high to try and dislodge the ball or hold the ball up, but equally there is always a danger of going high… as was seen.
This was Nadolo’s second of the night in the East Midlands Derby, as Leicester ran out 35-30 winners to extend their lead at the top of the Gallagher Premiership table to twelve points. This was also the Fijian’s return to action after over a month out, and he marked his return in style.
Take a look:
https://twitter.com/btsportrugby/status/1492233514317668357?s=20&t=tL7zaCA8-WyWvKWrjNm0Gw
Leicester Tigers
15 Bryce Hegarty [8]
14 Harry Potter [28]
13 Guy Porter [32]
12 Dan Kelly [35]
11 Nemani Nadolo [25]
10 Freddie Burns [88]
9 Richard Wigglesworth (vc) [26]
1 James Whitcombe [13]
2 Julián Montoya [17]
3 Dan Cole [280]
4 Harry Wells [142]
5 Calum Green [77]
6 Hanro Liebenberg (c) [45]
7 Tommy Reffell [64]
8 Jasper Wiese [30]
Replacements
16 Charlie Clare [40]
17 Francois van Wyk [8]
18 Nephi Leatigaga [57]
19 Eli Snyman [10]
20 George Martin [30]
21 Jack van Poortvliet [36]
22 Matt Scott [38]
23 Chris Ashton [debut]
Northampton Saints
15 Ahsee Tuala
14 Ollie Sleightholme
13 Fraser Dingwall
12 Rory Hutchinson
11 Courtnall Skosan
10 George Furbank
9 Alex Mitchell
1 Alex Waller
2 Sam Matavesi
3 Paul Hill
4 David Ribbans
5 Api Ratuniyarawa
6 Tom Wood
7 Teimana Harrison
8 Juarno Augustus
Replacements
16 Mike Haywood
17 Emmanuel Iyogun
18 Conor Carey
19 Alex Coles
20 Karl Wilkins
21 Tom James
22 James Grayson
23 Matt Proctor
