Chiefs coach won’t rule out Nonu interest
Chiefs coach Colin Cooper will neither confirm nor deny that his team is working to secure the services of former All Blacks midfielder Ma’a Nonu.
Nonu left Toulon after three seasons in France for family reasons in May and the Hurricanes have already ruled out signing their former star, who made 126 appearances for the Wellingtonbased team.
Speaking at yesterday’s captain’s run in Hamilton ahead of the Chiefs’ quarterfinal against the Hurricanes in the capital, Cooper left the door open for the 36-year-old to potentially play for his fourth Kiwi team in the Super Rugby competition.
‘‘No, we haven’t talked about that,’’ Cooper said when asked about Nonu.
‘‘Our whole focus is this quarterfinal, and those sort of discussions don’t come into it. That’s the conservativeness in me, it’s week by week, don’t lose your focus, bring it all this Friday night.’’
When probed again, Cooper said: ‘‘I’m just saying we haven’t been discussing it. I’m not saying no or yes.’’
Nonu, who played 103 tests for the All Blacks from 2003-15, was with the Hurricanes from 2003-11. He spent a season with the Highlanders in 2013 in between two stints with the Blues in
2012 and 2014, but returned to the Canes for his last Super Rugby season before leaving for France after the 2015 World Cup.
Cooper watched over Nonu during his tenure as Hurricanes coach from
2003-10.
The Chiefs are looking for midfield options for 2019 due to the impending departures of Johnny Fa’auli, Charlie Ngatai and Tim Nanai-Williams.
Nonu’s last All Blacks appearance came in the 2015 World Cup final, scoring a try in the 34-17 triumph over Australia at Twickenham.
He then joined Toulon on a lucrative three-year contract but he announced in May via Instagram that he was taking a step back from rugby to assess his future.