Ma\u2019a Nonu continues to defy logic as the All Blacks legend not only continues to play or compete at a professional level but shine too.<\/b><\/p>\n
At the age of 43, most internationals are well into their post-rugby careers, whether that\u2019d be punditry, wealth management or whatever floats their boat; hell, Scott Robertson was overseeing his first season as the Crusaders head coach when he was that old.<\/p>\n
But not Ma\u2019a Nonu<\/a>. The powerhouse centre continues to put his body through the gruelling demands of being a professional rugby player and goes against the norm of retiring in your 30s.<\/p>\n Ma\u2019a Nonu defies logic<\/p>\n Sure, he is not the all-court world-class midfielder that helped the All Blacks<\/a> win back-to-back World Cups and formed possibly the greatest centre pairing of all-time with Conrad Smith, but he is no slouch, and he proved that point in his most recent appearance for Top 14<\/a> giants RC Toulon.<\/p>\n Nonu came off the bench in the club\u2019s round 14 meeting with Ronan O\u2019Gara\u2019s La Rochelle, and despite being 49-0 down at the time, the All Blacks great did not let his standards drop.<\/p>\n Toulon opted to rest a plethora of their star players for the league meeting, prioritising this weekend\u2019s Investec Champions Cup<\/a> tie against Munster instead.<\/p>\n This meant that Nonu was featuring in a team with a bunch of youngsters, some of whom are half his age, but as he has done throughout his career, he wore his heart on his sleeve with an insane try-saving intervention.<\/p>\n La Rochelle were camped inside the Toulon 22 and looked certain to ruthlessly add to their ever-growing points tally with replacement tighthead prop Aleksandre Kuntelia surging towards the line from close range.<\/p>\n The front rower was powering through the tackle of 20-year-old Toulon centre Oliver Cowie and seemingly did enough to simply flop over the line if it weren\u2019t for Nonu\u2019s brilliance.<\/p>\n The ex-Blues centre had identified the threat, wrapped around the breakdown and miraculously managed to get his mitts onto the ball, still in Kuntelia\u2019s grasp. He sensationally spun out of the tackle and came away with the ball in his hands, denying the La Rochelle front rower a try.<\/p>\n Un geste de grande classe sign\u00e9 Ma\u2019a Nonu \ud83d\udcab@RCTofficiel<\/a> \ud83d\udd25 pic.twitter.com\/92jsEUbwPm<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 CANAL+ Rugby (@CanalplusRugby) January 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Next up for Toulon and La Rochelle<\/p>\n While Nonu\u2019s efforts denied La Rochelle, it mattered little in the grander scheme of things as O\u2019Gara\u2019s men marched to a thumping 66-0 victory, racking up nine tries in the process.<\/p>\n Wallabies Tolu Latu (2) and Will Skelton were among the try scorers, as was ex-Springbok back Dillyn Leyds, Georgian star Davit Niniashvili and Fijian Levani Botia. Nolann Le Garrec walked away with a personal haul of 24 points, which also included a try, with the other five-pointers coming from Jules Favre and Kirill Fraindt.<\/p>\n La Rochelle will hope that the result has given them the confidence needed to overcome the challenge of facing Leinster in Dublin this weekend, with All Blacks star Rieko Ioane named in the Irish club\u2019s starting lineup for the clash.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Nonu has not been named in the Toulon team to face Munster, with head coach Pierre Mignoni making wholesale changes for the trip to Thomond Park.<\/p>\n Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0<\/b>Rob Kearney\u2019s Ronan O\u2019Gara worry as Ireland great calls on Leinster star to \u2018rediscover his best\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n