LEINSTER ARE set to receive a well-timed boost on the eve of their Heineken Cup semi-final against Clermont in Bordeaux this Sunday with the news that Isa Nacewa is renewing his contract to extend his stay with the province by a further year until the end of the 2013-14 season.
It had been feared that the 29-year-old Auckland-born utility back, who is currently in his fourth season with the province, might reluctantly leave Leinster in light of the IRFU’s recent proposals to bring in new restrictions on overseas’ players.
Amongst these were proposals that overseas’ players, or (NIE) non-Irish eligible players, be ‘position specific’ and also that they could not be re-signed after completing more than one contract.
Nacewa has played at fullback, both wings, centre and outhalf for Leinster, as well as often assuming the place-kicking duties if Jonathan Sexton and, until recently, Fergus McFadden weren’t playing, winning two Heineken Cups and becoming a huge cult figure with the Leinster supporters as well as being a hugely popular and proficient player with the province.
Although Ulster have re-signed Ruan Pienaar and Johann Muller, Leinster had feared that they would lose Nacewa due to the union’s restrictions at the end of his current deal in the summer of 2013, even though the player himself was keen to stay, along with his wife Simone and three-Irish born girls. He certainly would not have been short of suitors, especially in France, but now, it would appear, although the policy regarding foreign players has yet to be resolved, the union have shown a welcome degree of flexibility in Nacewa’s case.
Nacewa had made himself ineligible for the All Blacks by playing as a replacement for one minute for Fiji in the 2003 World Cup, but had always rejected Fijian overtures to play Test rugby, in part because of his primary commitment to Leinster over the last four seasons.
Only last Sunday Nacewa told Setanta Sports’ iTalkSport that because of the IRFU’s foreign player proposals his future was “a bit up in the air at the moment. I think they’ve (IRFU) let their guard down a bit. But at the end of the day they’re the rules and if they decide to employ them, I think it will change a lot of the structure of some of the teams out there.”
As for the prospect of leaving Leinster, he admitted: “Definitely something I don’t want to do. I’ve got a young family here that were born in Dublin and have grown up in Ireland . . . but, at the end of the day, if I’m forced to leave it’s just something I’ll have to deal with.”
Despite breaking his hand toward the end of his third game for Leinster against the Ospreys (having landed two drop goals at outhalf) and being sidelined for almost three months, since returning to the team he has been rested for only 10 of Leinster’s last 105 competitive matches – and has started in all but two of his last 94 appearances. Sunday’s semi-final will be his 99th game for the province. He has scored 358 points for them, including 18 tries.
Last season, he played in all but one of Leinster’s 33 games, and started in all but one of them, established himself as probably the best fullback in Europe with his athleticism and inventive counter-attacking, and, like truly exceptional players, he always seems to have time on the ball.
He scored two tries in the pool stages as well as a brilliant solo effort in the quarter-final against Leicester, following which Gordon D’Arcy said of Nacewa: “It gets kind of boring when he’s that good. He’s probably one of the best players I’ve played with in any shape, way or form.”
Nacewa duly became the first overseas player to be chosen as the IRUPA (Irish Rugby Union Players’ Association) player of the year, was also the Leinster player of the year and was on the five-man shortlist for ERC European Player of the Year.
Despite his phenomenal form at fullback, for the betterment of the Irish team Joe Schmidt has played Rob Kearney there in all of his dozen starts for Leinster this season. There’s little doubt that Kearney is producing the best rugby of his career and he admits this is in part due to the presence of Nacewa.
Meanwhile, Clermont Auvergne have suffered a setback ahead of their clash against the defending champions after French outhalf David Skrela was ruled out with a thigh injury.
The 33-year-old will undergo a minor operation on the injury, which he picked up after three minutes of the quarter-final victory over Saracens.
Munster hooker Denis Fogarty has said that frustration with not getting game time was the primary reason for turning down the offer of a new two-year contract and opting to move to France.
The 28-year old will move to Aurillac who are coached by former Irish international Jeremy Davidson and who play in the second tier in France, the Pro D2.
