Top 14: At 42, the legend Ma'a Nonu is Toulon's new medical joker

The New Zealand three-quarter centre, double world champion in 2011 and 2015 (103 selections), returns until the end of the season to a club where he already played from 2015 to 2018 and then in 2020-2021.

By Le Parisien

Ma'a Nonu, the new medical joker of the RCT, was on the Toulon bench during the match against the Stade Français on Saturday February 22 at the Mayol stadium. Johnny Fidelin/Icon Sport

The return of a legend. Ma'a Nonu, the New Zealand three-quarter centre (103 caps with the All Blacks), returns as a medical joker to Toulon, until the end of the season according to the RCT. At 42 years old… It was through a video posted online by the club this Tuesday that the transfer was made official. We see Mathieu Bastareaud, the assistant coach, sweeping the locker room while Ma'a Nonu picks up a jersey after the victory (24-6), Saturday, against Stade Français .

The New Zealander, who was on the Toulon bench at Mayol, had joined the Var club two weeks ago with a view, he said, to preparing his reconversion as a coach. But his hard work during the sessions quickly suggested another outcome and a return to a squad where the three-quarter center played between 2015 and 2018 and then during the 2020-2021 season.

So, publicity stunt for the club or real sporting interest? The next matches will tell. The double world champion with the All Blacks (2011, 2015) has been playing since 2022, in MLR, the United States championship, in San Diego, with another RCT legend, the Australian Matt Giteau (three European Cups with Toulon, in 2013, 2014, 2015).