Isa Nacewa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Isa Nacewa
Full name Isakeli Nacewa
Date of birth July 22, 1982 (age 24)
Place of birth Auckland
Height 1.80 m
Weight 88 kg
Rugby union career
Position Fly-half Fullback Second five Wing
Super Rugby Caps (points)
Flag of New Zealand Blues
correct as of .
National team(s) Caps (points)
2003 - present Flag of Fiji Fiji 1 (0)
correct as of .

Isakeli Nacewa (born 22 July 1982 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer of Fijian descent. He is a utility back and plays Super Rugby with the Blues and for Auckland in the Air New Zealand Cup. He has one test cap with Fiji. He weighs 88kg and is 1.8m tall.

One of the standout players for Auckland in their 2005 NPC-winning season, Nacewa is a versatile player that can play as an outside back or centre. He proved that he can play as a first five-eighth as he covered for the injured Luke McAlister during the 2006 Super 14 season.

Born and raised in New Zealand, Nacewa qualified to play for Fiji through his ancestal links. He was included in Fiji's squad for the 2003 Rugby World Cup and came on as a substitute against Scotland. In 2006, he quit the Fiji national team as he wanted his eligiblity changed from Fiji to New Zealand. But due to IRB law, his appearance for Fiji in the World Cup made him ineligible for the All Blacks, Nacewa is now considering legal advice to persuade the IRB to annul his Fiji cap[1].

The IRB has ruled that Nacewa is a Fijian citizen and has played for Fiji during the 2003 Rugby World Cup, making him only eligible to play for Fiji[2].

In the 2007 Super 14 coach David Nucifora trialled him in their first match against the Crusaders at Fly-half in place of first-choice Luke McAlister who was out because of an injury and he played so well that the coach decided to play him at number 10 and when Luke McAlister returned he was placed in his favourite position at Second five to cater for Nacewa. The Blues defeated the defending champions and Nacewa managed to score 19 points against the Crusaders.

[edit] Reference

  1. ^ Nacewa plays a waiting game. fijitimes.com. Retrieved on 22 July 2006.
  2. ^ Only Fiji, Nacewa told. fijivillage.com. Retrieved on 22 July 2006.

.