Lieutenant Leone Nakarawa (born 2 April 1988) is a Fijian

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

union footballer and Olympic gold medalist. He plays as a Second-Row forward for

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

and represents the Fijian national team in international rugby. He previously played for

Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...

and is Warrior No. 224. He won the

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

with the Glasgow Warriors in 2014–15 and re-signed with the club in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

. Inbetween that period, in 2016 he signed for

Racing 92 Racing 92 () is a French rugby union club based in suburban Paris that was formed in 2001 with the collaboration of the Racing Club de France and US Métro. They were called Racing Métro 92 between 2001 and 2015, when they changed the name ...

. In 2018 he was awarded the EPCR Player of the Year accolade. Nakarawa is generally considered to be one of the best

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

forwards in the world. He is most famous for his offloading skills, athleticism and general play in open field.

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

While with the Warriors he occasionally turned out for the amateur club

Glasgow Hawks Glasgow Hawks is an amateur rugby union team in Glasgow, Scotland. They were Premiership Division One champions for three consecutive seasons from 2003–04 to 2005–06. History In Paris on 27 August 1995 a meeting of the International Rugby ...

Professional career

He signed for

in August 2013. Nakarawa was named

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

for Glasgow in the 2015 Pro12 Grand Final in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. He had the most offloads in the 2014–15 European Rugby Champions Cup with 25. Nakarawa moved to

after the World Cup. After his first season in France, Nakarawa was named in the Pro12 Dream Team at the end of the 2015/16 season. In December 2019 Racing 92 announced his contract had been terminated for "a total lack of team spirit and marked insubordination" and "abandoning his post' after he failed to return from World Cup duty on time. On 2 January 2020

announced that they had signed Nakarawa on a contract to the end of the 2019-20 season. This was then extended to the following season. On Jan 27th 2021 he signed on a one year contract with

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

side

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

that would have seen him play in Belfast from the start of the 2021-22 season. However this deal fell through on 10 June 2021 with the Ulster club stating "We can today confirm that, on receipt of a detailed medical report following an examination by the club at the weekend, Leone Nakarawa will no longer be joining Ulster Rugby for next season."

signed the player in June 2021.

International career

The talented Second-Row forward debuted for Fiji against Tonga at Nuku'alofa on 13 June 2009. He played in the

Pacific Nations Cup The Pacific Nations Cup is an international rugby union competition held between three Pacific states: Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. The 2019 edition of the tournament will also include the national teams of Canada, Japan and United States. First hel ...

for Fiji in 2010 and was one of Fiji's only bright sparks in their campaign at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. In 2011, New Zealand had to make an exemption to their ban on Fiji Military personnel entering the country in order for Nakarawa to play in the World Cup games. He later quit the army to focus fully on his rugby career. Nakarawa played for

Fiji Barbarians The Fiji Barbarians is a Fijian former rugby union representative team that played in the Pacific Rugby Cup from 2006 to 2010. The other Fijian team in the Cup was the Fiji Warriors. The players were drawn from the Fijian domestic competitions. The ...

and resisted moves to France and England; not moving to Europe until signing his first professional contract with

. After a hugely successful season, Nakarawa was selected to play for Fijian national team at the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was subsequently named in the World Cup Dream Team at the end of the tournament. At the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, Nakarawa was part of the

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

team in rugby sevens, where he scored a try in the final in a one-sided 43-7 victory over

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

to claim the gold medal, which was also Fiji's first ever Olympic medal in any sport.

Honours and awards

After the

, Nakarawa was awarded the Officer of the Order of Fiji. ;Glasgow Warriors *Pro12 (1): 2014–15 ;Fiji *

(4): 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

References

External links

*
Glasgow Hawks report on Nakarawa going to France

Glasgow Warriors profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakarawa, Leone 1988 births Living people Fijian rugby union players Fiji international rugby union players Glasgow Warriors players Rugby union locks Fijian expatriate rugby union players Fijian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate rugby union players in Scotland People from Tavua, Fiji I-Taukei Fijian people Glasgow Hawks players Rugby sevens players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic rugby sevens players of Fiji Fiji international rugby sevens players Olympic gold medalists for Fiji Male rugby sevens players Olympic medalists in rugby sevens Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Racing 92 players Expatriate rugby union players in France Fijian expatriate sportspeople in France RC Toulonnais players Rugby union flankers