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Video: The try-creating offload that has Leicester salivating over Nemani Nadolo

(Photo by Andy Kearns/CameraSport via Getty Images)

Nine years after he last appeared in the tournament, legendary Fijian back Nemani Nadolo needed just one moment of magic 24 minutes into his Leicester Tigers to remind Gallagher Premiership fans of his potency.  

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Not since an April 3 appearance in 2011 for Exeter versus Leeds had Nadolo featured in the English league, an unfulfilled stint in Devon which he candidly reflected on last year in the acclaimed RugbyPass documentary – Nadolo – on his life and times. 

Now at Leicester following a career that took him to clubs in Japan, New Zealand and France in the years that followed his Exeter exit, the 32-year-old powerhouse revelled in getting his first run at Welford Road on Wednesday night as a Tigers player.

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RugbyPass brings you Nadolo, the documentary on the life and times of the legendary Fijian powerhouse

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RugbyPass brings you Nadolo, the documentary on the life and times of the legendary Fijian powerhouse

Leicester’s struggles in recent years have been well documented, with wins in the league especially at a premium. Hammered by Bath last weekend in new coach Steve Borthwick’s second game in charge, they came into their midweek fixture against lower table London Irish adrift in eleventh place with just four wins in 15 outings. 

They went on to eventually grind out the victory on a 13-7 scoreline in which the deft skill exhibited by Nadolo in the engineering of David Williams’ first-half try was crucial. 

Leicester appeared to have made a mess of possession off a scrum inside the Irish 22 but Nadolo, taking a hurried flick off the ground from scrum-half Ben Youngs, whipped a delicious one-handed offload out the back to George Ford to enable Tigers to exploit space out the other side of the pitch and score.  

Pleased to have been involved after joining this summer from Montpellier, Nadolo later tweeted: “Privilege to get my first start in the Leicester Tigers jersey. 

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“It’s been six months since I last played. Glad to get through the 80 minutes. It wasn’t a pretty win but we will take it. Thank you, London Irish, for that tough contest. I’m still at Welford Road looking for my lungs.”

In his six carries over the course of his debut, Nadolo made 55 metres, enjoyed one clean break, beat three defenders and executed three offloads, including the one in the move that led to the all-important try. 

It was a performance that left director of rugby Geordan Murphy salivating over their new signing. “He did a good job and looked dangerous and I’m sure he will be a crowd-pleaser when the fans are able to come back,” he said. 

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H
Hellhound 58 minutes ago
South Africa will beat England at a canter

Very good article and no, you are definitely not the only one. You hit the nail on the head with both teams. England will fall back to the WC semi ta tics, whereas the Boks will run it. They mean to destroy, not only with their forwards but with their backs too.


There is immense speed in that backline. England need a miracle. The Boks have the best defence and attack this year. This Bok team is different from the one from the semi. Most the same players, but way different tactics from last year.


Manie Libbok has a lot to prove and with Sacha basically making the 10 his own with exceptional games this year, I'm sure he will be out to showcase just how dangerous he is. No one in the team except a few is absolutely certain of their places. The rest is going to go hard at the English to prove why they should be considered every time.


These Boks targeted the English game as the toughest of the Autumn nations series. This is the game they want to win. They want to prove that the WC semi result was a fluke. They want to show just why they are the current Kings of rugby.


It's hard to stop a team who has lost only 2 Tests this year, both by a point. It could've been 11/11. What makes it scarier is that in each and every Test, they swapped many players and still came away with wins. The ability to muscle and grind out wins is this team's best attribute.


They believe in their coaches and each and every team mate. They are full in. Playing on the day or not. This is going to be a slaughter. Before the teams was named, I had the Boks by a winning margin of 12-15 points, but after it was named, I changed it to 20+.


The English is going to give the Boks the ball and the Boks is going to run them ragged. This team wasn't chosen to play the same boring strategy of the WC semi.

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