Online Reporter
Veteran 42-year-old New Zealand centre Ma’a Nonu made history on Saturday when he became the oldest man to play in the French Top 14.
The two-time World Cup winner went into the record books when he came on as second-half replacement in Toulon’s match at Castres.
Nonu, in his third spell with the French club, has signed as medical cover for the rest of the season.
Having played at Toulon from 2015-2018 and then again in the 2020-2021 campaign, Nonu replaced French international winger Gabin Villiere on the hour mark of Saturday’s game in Castres.
After his last spell in France, the 103-time capped Nonu moved to the United States to play in San Diego.
Meanwhile, The Emirates Lions slumped to a disappointing 42-0 whitewash at the hands of the defending Vodacom United Rugby Championship champions Glasgow Warriors, underlining just how far off their challenge is at the moment.
The only positive that the Lions could take out of the game was the fact they kept Glasgow scoreless in an error-ridden second half, mainly because of a gale force wind at their backs, the same wind that propelled the home side to their big lead in the first half.
But in essence the match delivered a verdict of the Lions’ chances for the rest of the season, as they failed to match the Warriors in terms of passion and intensity and often paid the price for this failure.
There was little to write home about for the Lions, who were hoping for a brave performance after losing to Cardiff last weekend despite dominating every part of the game.
Part of the problem is that even if the Lions manage to sneak into the top eight for the first time since the inception of the URC, they are likely to face one of the top sides away from home, and on this performance any sort of upset would be unlikely.
The Lions will be kicking themselves. After a solid start to the season they have slumped into mediocrity and if they aren’t contemplating change at the top, it would be a travesty.
The congestion at the top of the log means the Lions can still sneak into the top eight on the back of four home game wins, but on this performance, few would give them a chance against any team in the top four.
At some point though, the Lions are going to have to address the elephant in the room, especially if they don’t qualify for the top eight.
It will be the same story as every other season, despite changing the assistant coaches and keeping the head coach intact − SuperSport.
