Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Nonu and Smith retire knowing none will match their greatness
Two normal blokes with sublime skill have taken New Zealand to new heights
ON A day of coronations at Twickenham, the World Cup final will play host to the last hurrah of the greatest centre partnership of all time.
Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith – the ying and yang force of the All Blacks’ midfield – will retire from Tests today as not only the most experienced pair, with 61 games together, but the likes we will never see again.
Since 2008 we have gawped at their talent from afar – the improbable agility and skill of Smith coupled with the brute, the deft touches and genius of Nonu. Unparalleled, never imperious.
Like any great story it is not without hiccups. Especially for Nonu, the 100kg beast from New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington.
Born to Samoan parents, he wanted to play for Le Manu, not the All Blacks growing up.
But attending Rongotai College, which has since given us Julian Savea, changed all that.
He burst onto the scene in 2003 – but met Martin Johnson’s England in his first Test, and lost. Yes, that game where England defended an onslaught with two men in the bin.
And despite having the talent, two drunken arrests and a penchant for eye-liner did not exactly thrust him into the boots of outgoing hero Tana Umaga, when the legend retired in 2005.
New Zealand dallied, selecting him as a wing in the elusive search for another Jonah Lomu, and Nonu’s international career spluttered and flattered to deceive.
Graham Henry overlooked the Wellington man for the 2007 World Cup – opting for Aaron Mauger, Luke McAlister, Smith and Isaia Toeava.
It was a decision that almost saw the end of Nonu in union – he signed a contract with NRL side the West Tigers but at the last minute did not send it.
It was then that Wayne Smith, current All Black assistant coach, convinced him to move into the No 12 shirt.
And with that, the NonuSmith pairing was born. In the following years he would not only equal his Hurricanes mentor Umaga, but surpass him, something many would have thought impossible in the early noughties.
Between the 2007 and 2011 World Cups, Nonu lost eight of his 10 ever defeats – when the Springboks ruled the roost – but became central to a shaken up All Black culture, humble and proud but striving always to better themselves.
Since then the records have tumbled. Nonu and Smith, the two ordinary blokes with extraordinary skill pushing New Zealand to new heights.
Crowned World Champions in 2011, Nonu and Smith have done the impossible. They have got better.
In four years the pair have been involved in just two defeats, with Nonu’s last coming way back in 2012 when England were full of fire and hope.
And Nonu has added to his game. Not content with simply being the battering ram, he now possesses the outside break, the pin-point kick into corners, and soft hands able to release the wide men.
Not content with his place at the top, Nonu has not plateaued as other centres have, he has improved on the international stage.
His shimmy to fool South Africa’s Damian de Allende in the semi-final, providing the space for Beauden Barrett to score and push New Zealand one step closer to defending their crown, is simply the stuff dreams are made of.
Both Nonu and Smith will sun themselves in the South of France post- World Cup, at Toulon and Pau respectively, and regardless of the result today they should be safe in the knowledge that none will match their greatness.
But such is their selfeffacing nature, you’ll do well to ever get them to admit it.
And if you were in doubt about the result at Twickenham, just bear in mind that in 14 games each, neither Nonu or Smith have ever lost a World Cup match.
Who would bet against them now? – Daily Mail