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Dragons land 'aggressive' 117kg Samoan two years after Jackman flew to Auckland to convince him

Brandon Nansen during the Mitre 10 Cup

Samoan international lock Brandon Nansen has signed for Dragons on a two-year contract.

Nansen, 24, joins following a stint in the Top 14 with Stade Francais Paris, after beginning his senior career with New Zealand province North Harbour.

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He quickly became a regular in the North Harbour side as they lifted the Mitre 10 Cup Championship in 2016 and his performances didn’t go unnoticed at Super Rugby level as he was named as a member of the Blues squad for the 2017 season.

Nansen chose to represent Samoa, making his international debut against Romania last November, but made his first steps on the high-performance ladder as a New Zealand Schoolboys representative in 2011. He was also picked for Auckland under-16s and under 18s, whilst attending Sacred Heart College in Auckland, a school with notable alumni including Sean Fitzpatrick, Sonny Parker, Xavier Rush and a number of other All Blacks.

“This is one of our most significant acquisitions for next season,” Jackman told the Dragons website. “We’ve made no secret that we’ve been tracking a strong and aggressive ball carrying second row, so we’re delighted to confirm Brandon Nansen’s signing as he fits the bill.

“I flew to Auckland 2 years ago to try and convince Brandon to come to France, but he was offered a Super Rugby contract with the Auckland Blues. We have stayed in contact and I am delighted to get him this time.

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“Brandon is a highly mobile lock with loads of potential and whilst not yet the finished article, at 6’6” and 18 stone I’m looking forward to seeing him give our pack power at the set piece, aggression at the breakdown as well as his mobility and go forward around the park.”

Nansen said, “I’m really happy to be joining the Dragons. It’s a new challenge to come and play in Wales, a proud rugby nation.

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“I’ve come from Auckland to be here on the other side of the world, but I’m enjoying my rugby and getting a taste of what Europe is like. The rugby is different from back home, but I’m learning a lot and hopefully I can bring my physical presence to the Dragons.”

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AM 44 minutes ago
'Freelancer' Izaia Perese shows the need for true inclusivity in Australian rugby

That's Cron's job though. Australia has had one of the most penalised scrums in international rugby for a long time. Just look at the scrum win loss percentage and scrum penalties. That is your evidence. AA has been the starter during that period. Pretty simple analysis. That Australia has had a poor scrum for a long time is hardly news. If bell and thor are not on the field they are woeful. So you are just plain wrong. They have very little time for the lions so doing the same old things that dont work is not going to get them there.


Ainsley is better than our next best tighthead options and has been playing well at scrum time for Lyon in the most competitive comp in the world. Superstar player? No. But better than the next best options. So that is a good enough guide. The scrummaging in the Prem is pretty good too so there is Sio's proof. Same analysis for him. Certainly better in both cases than Super, where the brumbies had the worst win loss and scrum pen in Super. Who plays there? Ohh yes... And the level of scrummaging in Super is well below the URC, prem and France with the SA teams out.


Nongorr is truly woeful. He's 130kg and gets shoved about. That just should not be happening at that weight for a specialist prop who has always played rugby cf pone with leauge. He has had enough time to develop at 23. You'd be better off with Pone who is at least good around the field for the moment and sending Nongorr on exchange to France or England to see if they can improve him with better coaching as happened with Skelton and Meafou. He isn't going to develop in time in super if he has it at all.


Latu is a better scrummaging hooker than BPA and Nasser. and he's the best aussie player over the ball at ruck time. McReight's super jackling percentage hasnt converted to international level but latu consistently does it at heniken level, which is similar to test level in the big games. With good coaching at La Rochelle he's much improved though still has the odd shocker. He should start the November games.

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