Narawa on track for All Blacks return
There are some athletes with the gift of making professional sport look easy, and Chiefs wing Emoni Narawa is in that elite club.
Narawa’s three tries against Moana Pasifika represented another important step back towards the All Blacks after his World Cup heartache last year, when a back injury robbed him of the chance to star in France.
It’s true that he will come up against sterner defences than Moana Pasifika, but his outstanding reading of the game in Hamilton suggests he is capable of playing a big role for the All Blacks this year.
Athletically, his ability is there for all to see, but his ability to identify space was the best part of his game against Moana Pasifika. Narawa earns his spot in this week’s team of the week.
15 Etene Nanai-Seturo (Chiefs): Looked right at home at fullback, where he dominates for Counties Manukau in the NPC.
14 Emoni Narawa (Chiefs): The winger is getting better every week and still has plenty of room for improvement.
13 Daniel Rona (Chiefs): The 23-yearold continued to press his claims for a start in midfield with another slick attacking performance.
12 Corey Evans (Blues): Grew into the game during a rare start and showed nice anticipation to pick off an intercept try.
11 Caleb Clarke (Blues): Reaping the rewards of his physical transformation, and has added more pace.
10 Damian McKenzie (Chiefs): A constant threat with ball in hand, and bounced back from heavy contact to orchestrate the Chiefs’ big win.
9 Taufa Funaki (Blues): His natural running game is starting to come to the fore as he gains more Super Rugby experience.
8 Wallace Sititi (Chiefs): An eye-catching display from the youngster, who showed genuine power and soft skills.
7 Dalton Papalii (Blues): His best game of the season as he made 58 metres and weaved his way past eight defenders.
6 Akira Ioane (Blues): Bruising performance and was far too powerful for the Western Force.
5 Tupou Vaa’i (Chiefs): Of all the young locks in New Zealand, Vaa’i is putting up his hand the highest.
4 Josh Beehre (Blues): The young lock is not too dissimilar to Joe McCarthy, the breakout star of Ireland’s Six Nations campaign: a big physical presence.
3 Angus Ta’avao (Blues): The Blues’ scrum almost had as many running metres as the Force’s backline, such was the setpiece dominance.
2 Samisoni Taukei’aho (Chiefs): Started the season a little slowly, but picked up momentum with a strong game against Moana Pasifika.
1 Ofa Tu’ungafasi (Blues): The form loose head in the country at the moment, picking up another try against the Force.