HERE is a short Fijian name television and radio commentators will easily announce and enjoy pronouncing over the coming years.
Naholo’s inclusion in the New Zealand All Blacks 41-member squad is something every Fijian should be proud of.
Non-smoking, non-drinking, non-groging Naholo’s sacrifice has paid off.
He was on the verge of going to France to join a top club when he was requested by New Zealand rugby officials to stay back as he was being eyed for a wing position.
The two classic tries he scored last week against Chiefs was the rubber stamp to his selection.
A nephew of Nadroga coach Esala Nauga, Naholo has all the makings of a great wing and they come from a tribe of traditional warriors to the Na Kalevu, paramount chief of Nadroga.
He is not the sidestepping type, not too big, yet as powerful as any out there. His timing, quick turn of speed and solid built makes him another pocket battleship.
This was the nickname they gave former All Blacks winger of the seventies Grant Batty. It takes a couple of players to tie him down and is always too hot to handle and most important he scores tries.
Naholo broke All Black legendary winger and Otago’s Geoff Wilson’s record when he scored his first try and then his second made it a total of eleven in the 2015 season.
Red Card incident
Red Cards are usually given out to players committing serious infringements.
But we have a club player who in a Suva club game had the referee momentarily perplexed when he asked for a red card. Not yellow but red.
The incident happened when this player Mr Zee had not been training but turned up to watch his team play.
There was a sudden spate of injuries in the team and the coach saw this player, arms folded watching from among the crowd, surrounded by girls.
Mr Zee went in as a looseman and the first ball he received he passed but the tackle was late and had hit him below the ribs.
Fishing out his yellow card the referee sent the offender out but heard a whisper from the ground.
“Ref can you give me one red card too,” Mr Zee said.
The amused ref never did and the player struggled to his feet carrying the pain to the end of the game.
When asked Mr Zee explained: “There were a lot of pretty girls cheering for our team and it was better to be taken off red carded than to be carried off a stretcher after having been in the ground for only one minute.”
He was deemed to be of some hero status when he was called from the crowd to play and he went on with great pomp and showiness to impress the girls.
The lesson here is to maintain training even if you are not playing.
Experts say about fitness that if you don’t use it you lose it.
