Nemani Nadolo (formerly Ratu Nasiganiyavi; born 31 January 1988) is a Fijian-Australian

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player. He currently plays for New South Wales Waratahs in Super Rugby, usually as a

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

, and the Fiji national team. Nadolo was the overall top try scorer of the 2014 Super Rugby season competition while playing for the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

, scoring a try in both the semi-final and final. He is known for his speed and size, and occasionally standing in as a goal-kicker for conversions and penalties. He won 30 caps for Fiji between 2010 and 2019. He previously played for Leicester Tigers in England's

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

, Montpellier in France's

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

and

NEC Green Rockets NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu (formerly NEC Green Rockets) is a Japanese rugby union team in the Japan Rugby League One. The team's captain iRyota Asano The previous captain was Takuro Miuchi, who was also the captain of the Japan national rugby unio ...

in Japan's

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

Family and early life

Ratu Nemani Driu Nasiganiyavi was born in

Sigatoka, Fiji Sigatoka ( ) is a town in Fiji. It is on the island of Viti Levu at the mouth of the Sigatoka River, for which it is named, some 61 kilometres from Nadi. Its population at the 2017 census was 17,622. It is the principal urban centre for the pr ...

. At three months of age he moved with his family to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, Australia. His father, Isei Nasiganiyavi, played rugby for Queensland in the 1980s. He changed his name to Nemani Nadolo later as an adult, adopting his mother's maiden name in 2009 instead of the surname of his father who had left the family home when he was young. Nadolo attended

Nudgee College , motto_translation = A Sign of Faith , location = Boondall, Queensland , country = Australia , coordinates = , other_name = St. Joseph's Nudgee College , former_name ...

, and was selected for the Queensland Schoolboys rugby team in 2005. He is the older brother of Chris Kuridrani and Inosi Nadolo, and a cousin of

Tevita Kuridrani Tevita Kuridrani (born 31 March 1991) is a Fijian-born Australian rugby union player. His usual position is outside-centre. He is currently with French club Biarritz and previously played for the Brumbies and Western Force in Super Rugby. Kur ...

and

Lote Tuqiri Lote Daulako Tuqiri (born 23 September 1979) is a former professional dual-code rugby footballer who primarily played as a winger across both codes. He represented Australia in both rugby league and rugby union, and Fiji in rugby league. Tuqi ...

Rugby career

Early career

After featuring for

Perth Spirit Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is p ...

in the 2007

Australian Rugby Championship The Australian Rugby Championship, often abbreviated to the ARC and also known as the Mazda Australian Rugby Championship for sponsorship purposes, is a now-defunct domestic professional men's rugby union football competition in Australia, which ...

(as Ratu Siganiyavi), he headed east to play for Randwick in 2008. He hit the ground running for Randwick, scoring 13 tries in his first 7 matches. His club rugby season was punctuated by selection for the Australian Under 20 team for the

2008 IRB Junior World Championship The 2008 IRB Junior World Championship was the first annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. All players who were twenty years of age or under on 1 January 2008 were eligible for selection. This competition repla ...

, where he crossed 7 times in 5 matches to be the tournament's leading tryscorer. Nadolo was one of the finds of the 2008 season, with his hard-running and try-scoring prowess earning the powerhouse wing a Super 14 contract with the Waratahs. Nadolo's size, style of play and

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

background drew him comparisons to

Jonah Lomu Jonah Tali Lomu (12 May 1975 – 18 November 2015) was a New Zealand professional rugby union player. Lomu is considered to have been the first true global superstar of rugby, and consequently had a huge impact on the game. He is widely regarde ...

when he signed for the Waratahs in 2008. He is documented to have a sprint time under 11 seconds over 100 metres. He played his first match for the Junior Waratahs on the 2008 Development Tour of Fiji less than 200 metres from his mother's village in Nadi. After changing his name to Nemani Nadolo in November 2009, he signed to play for Manly in the Shute Shield for 2010.

Europe

Nadolo signed with French Top 14 team Bourgoin-Jallieu for the 2010–11 season, but transferred to England's

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played its home m ...

in January 2011. Nadolo's brief time at Exeter was fairly troublesome. He was registered at Exeter under his Australian passport and was mistakenly picked alongside two other non- Kolpak players. This is a breach of RFU regulations and resulted in Exeter being docked two points and fined £5,000. Also while at Exeter he was arrested by police for drink driving. He was subsequently banned from driving for 18 months and fined £950. Nadolo was immediately released from his contract with the club.

Japan

Nadolo played for the

in the Japan Top League between 2011 and 2013.

Super Rugby

In October 2013, Nadolo signed to play for

in the 2014 Super Rugby season. In March 2014, he made his Super Rugby debut off the bench against the

Melbourne Rebels The Melbourne Rebels is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Melbourne. They made their debut in SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. They were the first privately owned professional rugby union team in Australia, until 2017 ...

. He went on to play 14 Super Rugby games, including 12 starts, in his first season and was the equal top try scorer with

Israel Folau Israel Folau ( to, ‘Isileli Folau; born 3 April 1989) is an Australian professional rugby union footballer who plays for the Shining Arcs in the Japan Rugby League One and the Tonga national rugby union team. He has previously played Aust ...

, notching 12 tries. He scored a try in both the semi-final and

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

but it wasn't enough to win the Super Rugby title as his Crusaders team lost to his former team, the Waratahs, by 33–32. In August 2014, Nadolo re-signed with the Crusaders for two more seasons. On May 4 2022 the Waratahs announced the signing of Nadolo from Leicester Tigers for the 2023 season. Nadolo returns to the Waratahs 12 years after he was deemed surplus to requirements by the franchise in 2010.

Top 14

In November 2015, Nadolo signed a three-year deal with French

side, Montpellier. He left at the end of the

2020 Super Rugby season The 2020 Super Rugby season was the 25th season of Super Rugby, an international men's rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR involving teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It is the third tournament in i ...

Premiership Rugby

In March 2020 it was announced that Nadolo would be joining Premiership side Leicester Tigers for the 2020-21 season. Nadolo made his debut on 26 August 2020 at Welford Road in a match against

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

, with Nadolo impressing in a 13-7 win. On 30 October 2021, Nadolo scored two tries in the East Midlands Derby against

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

. Nadolo will leave Tigers before the conclusion of the 2022–23 season and return to Australia to rejoin the

NSW Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the sta ...

ahead of their 2023 season.

International career

Nadolo made his Test debut in 2010 when selected in the 24-member Fiji team for a one-off match against Australia, followed by the 2010 IRB Pacific Nations Cup. In June 2014, Nadolo joined Fiji for the

one-off In the field of vehicles authorized to drive, a one-off vehicle is a vehicle that was manufactured only once. The production of unique vehicles is reduced to one unit in each case. The easiest cases to analyze are those of cars and motorcycles. Un ...

test against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. He was instrumental in that game playing at his preferred position of

Inside centre In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

scoring 13 points including a try. A week later in the

2014 IRB Pacific Nations Cup The 2014 IRB Pacific Nations Cup, was the ninth edition of the IRB Pacific Nations Cup, the annual Tier 2 Rugby union tournament. Unlike previous competitions, the tournament was divided into two conferences of three teams each, with no interconfer ...

, he faced

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

scoring 20 points including a try and kicking 6 conversion and a long-range penalty. A week later, against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

, he scored a try but it was not enough for a win as Fiji lost in a nail-biting encounter, 13–18. In his final game for Fiji in June in the 2015 Rugby World Cup – Oceania qualification match against

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

. He scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

of tries and in the process equalled the all-time record set by

Christian Cullen Christian Mathias Cullen (born 12 February 1976) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. He played most of his rugby at fullback for New Zealand (the All Blacks), for the Hurricanes in the Super 12, and for Manawatu, Wellington and later ...

and John Kirwan of scoring 10 tries in consecutive matches. Nadolo returned for Fiji in 2015 and played on the wing against the

Māori All Blacks The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Maori, New Zealand Maoris and New Zealand Natives, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing i ...

in Suva but while scoring a try, he damaged his pectoral muscles which ruled him out for 6 weeks and the

2015 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup The 2015 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup was the tenth edition of the World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup (formerly known as the IRB Pacific Nations Cup), an annual international rugby union tournament. The 2015 title was contested between the Tier 2 n ...

. He was nevertheless included in the final 31-member squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. He returned to play for Fiji in a

warm-up 'Warming up' is a part of stretching and preparation for physical exertion or a performance by exercising or practicing gently beforehand, usually undertaken before a performance or practice. Athletes, singers, actors and others warm up before s ...

game against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

on the left wing and though he didn't score a try, he kicked 5 conversions and 4 penalties with his boot ending the game with a 100% kicking percentage. He scored a try against England in the first match of the 2015 Rugby World Cup on 18 September 2015.Video: Volavola sets up Nadolo with perfect kick , Rugby , Sporting News
Sportal.com.au (18 September 2015). Retrieved on 2017-01-13. Along with teammate

Timoci Nagusa Timoci Nagusa (born 14 July 1987) is a Fijian rugby union footballer. He plays as a wing. He played his rugby for French club, Montpelier for 10 years before leaving for ProD2 club Grenoble in 2020. He is 1.88m (6'2) and weighs 88 kg. He w ...

, he retired from International rugby just months before the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

and remained with Montpellier as their season continued during the World Cup.

References

External links

*
ITSRugby profile

Premiership Rugby Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadolo, Nemani 1988 births Fijian rugby union players Australian rugby union players Australian people of I-Taukei Fijian descent Fiji international rugby union players Green Rockets Tokatsu players Fijian expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in France Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Expatriate rugby union players in England Fijian expatriate sportspeople in France Fijian expatriate sportspeople in England Fijian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Exeter Chiefs players Crusaders (rugby union) players CS Bourgoin-Jallieu players Living people People from Sigatoka Fijian emigrants to Australia Australian expatriate sportspeople in France Australian expatriate sportspeople in England I-Taukei Fijian people Barbarian F.C. players Montpellier Hérault Rugby players Leicester Tigers players Rugby union centres Rugby union wings New South Wales Waratahs players