Isa Nacewa

Isa Nacewa

Nacewa making a tackle
Full name	Isikeli Kurimavua Nacewa
Date of birth	(1982-07-22) 22 July 1982 (age 34)
Place of birth	Auckland, New Zealand
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	91 kg (14 st 5 lb)
School	Auckland Grammar School
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Utility Back
Amateur clubs Years Club / team
Provincial/State sides Years Club / team Caps (points) 2003-07 2008-13 2015- Auckland Leinster Leinster 54 126 37 (212) (391) (248) Correct as of 14 January 2017
Super Rugby Years Club / team Caps (points) 2005-08 Blues 44 (208) Correct as of 29 Apr 2013
National team(s) Years Club / team Caps (points) 2003 2004 2009–2012 Fiji NZ Barbarians Barbarians 1 1 3 (0) (0) (15)

Isakeli "Isa" Nacewa (born 22 July 1982) is a New Zealand-born rugby union footballer of Fijian descent. He is a utility back and currently represents Leinster Rugby in the Pro12 and European Rugby Champions Cup competitions.

He previously represented the Blues in the Super Rugby competition and Auckland in the Air New Zealand Cup. He has also represented Fiji once at international level. After a two-year break from the game, he returned to Leinster in 2015 on a one-year contract, which was subsequently extended to cover the 2016-17 season.

Nacewa was one of the stand-out players for Auckland in their 2005 NPC-winning season, Nacewa is a speedy and versatile player who can play as an outside back or centre. He also proved that he can play as a first five-eighth when he covered successfully for the injured Luke McAlister during the 2006 Super 14 season.

Born and raised in New Zealand, Nacewa qualified to play for Fiji through his ancestral links. He was included in Fiji's squad for the 2003 Rugby World Cup and came on as a substitute against Scotland. In 2006, he quit the Fiji national team as he wanted his eligibility changed from Fiji to New Zealand. But due to IRB law, his appearance for Fiji in the World Cup made him ineligible for the All Blacks, Nacewa considered legal advice to persuade the IRB to annul his Fiji cap, however the IRB has since ruled that Nacewa is a Fijian citizen and has played for Fiji during the 2003 Rugby World Cup, making him only eligible to play for Fiji. According to media reports in October 2009, Nacewa was sounded out about the possibility of again playing for Fiji on their tour to Europe, but he rebuffed these approaches to retain his focus on club rugby with Leinster.