OLYMPIAN Leone Nakarawa has been named as the European Professional Club Rugby European Player of the Year for 2018 yesterday. Nakarawa who has been known for his off-loading skills and he also a giant when it comes to breaking defence in both 7s and 15s code of rugby has been recognised for his services.
He has been rated as the top three rugby player in the world by a magazine company.
“The big Fijian lock helped Racing 92 reach the Champions Cup final in which they were narrowly defeated by Leinster at Bilbao’s San Mamés Stadium,” rugbypass.com reported.
“The winner of the award was determined by a combination of a public vote and the verdict of an expert panel. A record 21,000 votes were registered from fans since the list of nominees for the award was named at the end of January.”
Nakarawa won a gold medal for the Fiji 7s team in the 2016 Olympic Games under coach Ben Ryan.
“Nakarawa is in elite company, with previous winners of the award including the likes of Owen Farrell, Jonny Wilkinson and Ronan O’Gara,” the website further reported.
“The 30-year-old Fijian has been with Racing since 2016, joining the French side after three years with Glasgow Warriors. “On top of his 47 appearances for his native Fiji, the athletic lock is also an Olympics gold medal winner, scoring a try in the 2016 Summer Olympics gold medal match against Great Britain.”
