Nonu begins World Cup bid

AFTER three seasons in Toulon, Ma’a Nonu returned to Super Rugby on Saturday and hit the ground running as he begins a late bid for the All Black World Cup squad.

At 36, the two-time winner has rejoined the perennially struggling Auckland Blues as he looks to force his way into Steve Hansen’s plans.

And while the big-city boys lost to Ronan O’Gara’s Crusaders 24-22 at Eden Park, the veteran centre showed signs that he could yet add to his 103 caps before the year is out.

“There were a couple of little plays where he was really inspirational, a couple of really good defensive reads and high energy,” Blues coach Leon MacDonald said.

“He’s strong and powerful and he was a big part around discussions at half time around what we needed to do and I thought he was good.”