Pele did it for the North American Soccer League in the late 1970s, the aging icon coming to America and the New York Cosmos to put eyeballs on a sport desperate for recognition.
Three decades later, David Beckham, a rock star-like English character of Manchester United fame, further advanced the cause when he invaded the other coast to play for the L.A. Galaxy of MLS.
With the favor of hindsight, those moves were generational watershed moments in U.S. pro soccer, changing not only the way fans here viewed the sport, but the curiosity and regard it created around the world.
Can Ma’a Nonu do the same for rugby in America?
We are about to find out, and San Diego will be center stage for the intriguing experiment.
In the fall, the San Diego Legion of Major League Rugby — both entering their third season of existence — announced the g of the 37-year-old Nonu. That would draw a blank-faced shrug from any local who doesn’t follow rugby, so here’s some help: This is the Padres g Manny Machado, only it’s much bigger than that in the rugby world.
Nonu is considered one of the greatest to play for New Zealand’s storied All Blacks national team. He was a key component to back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles in 2011 and ’15, and his legion of fans is enormous.
In his early career, the powerful, 6-foot, 238-pounder wore thick mascara and dyed his dreadlocks blond, and then he went out to his favored position of No. 12, or center — rugby’s version of running back — and stunned crowds with his crushing blows and explosive open-field running.
“The greatest number 12 to ever wear the jersey,” declared David Pool, the Legion’s director of rugby and chief financial officer.
That is no doubt fodder for a lively pub debate, but Nonu is clearly one of the greatest to play the game, and the Legion and MLR are hoping to capitalize on his status to get fans in seats and viewers on television.
The timing seems right. The San Diego team is coming off a season of growing interest in the community, thanks in large part to going 12-3-1 in 2019, finishing atop the regular-season table, and coming within seconds in June of capturing the MLR title on its home turf at Torero Stadium.
The Legion were bitterly disappointed to be defeated on an extra-time try to the two-time champion Seattle Seawolves. The teams face off in the 2020 season opener at 2 p.m. Sunday at Torero Stadium in a match nationally televised on CBSSN.
Is the importance of Nonu’s arrival in the States comparable to that of Beckham’s?
“Absolutely. One hundred percent,” Legion head coach Rob Hoadley said emphatically. “You see the reaction from around the world. People were really taken aback by the g. He is such an icon of the game, people will be coming to see games because of him and watching the games around the world.
“It could open up new opportunities for sponsorships and marketing, and for recruiting other players. They’re going to be interested to see how Ma’a does here, and it will give guys around the world an idea of what level MLR is.
“He’s going to be a trailblazer in that way,” Hoadley said. “It gives us visibility and credibility across the world, which is huge for us.”
For those who don’t know their scrums and rucks, Hoadley tried to put Nonu’s stature and abilities in perspective.
“He’s someone who’s won the Super Bowl twice, as the main player. That’s the level,” the coach said. “He’s an absolute legend of the game in rugby. It’s hard to overstate his status.”
Nonu wasn’t the only big international g in MLR. New York acquired French star Mathieu Bastareaud, Colorado inked another former All Black, Rene Ranger, and the Washington, D.C., expansion team got Tendai Mtawarira, who was on South Africa’s winning 2019 World Cup squad.
It was Hoadley who first hatched the idea of Nonu coming to the Legion. The coach looked at film of possible impact players for the coming season and wasn’t satisfied. Nonu came into his thoughts, he discussed it with the owners and leaders of the club, and Pool began a pursuit of the player.
As it happened, Nonu’s contract with the Auckland Blues of Super Rugby was up, and he was available. Only a few years ago, Nonu was among the highest-paid players in the world, making close to $1 million per season. MLR doesn’t disclose salaries, but he surely will make less here.
Still, between Nonu’s waning marketplace power because of age, and his desire to see and play in America, it made for a fortuitous fit.
“I think for me, personally, it was something new, something fresh,” Nonu said in an interview at a recent season preview gathering. “I can see the game growing in America. A lot of people are asking why I’ve chosen America at this time in my career. I was really interested when I heard about the competition, so here I am now.
“I would never have thought I’d play in America. I wouldn’t have thought rugby would come this far here. It’s been around in America for a long time, but someone has taken the next step with MLR. I’m sure people in the Southern Hemisphere will take a second look and be interested. There’s a lot of hype around it with people coming over.”
Nonu, who said he’d never spent more than a few days in the United States while traveling with the New Zealand team, arrived in early January with his wife and three sons in tow. They are living in Carlsbad, near the Legion’s training facility, and he can already reel off a few of the beaches they’ve been to and sights they’ve seen.
“It’s been great,” Nonu said. “People had told me how fantastic San Diego is. It’s the climate, for one … and just the vibe of the place.”
Nonu’s transition to the team has been a smooth one, according to Hoadley, because the star is “a humble guy, very quiet.
“He doesn’t tell people what to do. Organically, he starts having a conversation with people, and they get on the edge of their seats, listening to ways they can improve.”
Nonu, whose parents grew up Samoa and met doing factory work after moving to New Zealand, said he never dreamed of this kind of attention. He waved off being called a “superstar.”
“The real superstars are NFL players, guys from basketball, baseball,” he said. “We’re just normal guys who love the game and play for our country.”
Few have done it better for New Zealand than Nonu. He ranks eighth all-time in All Blacks appearances with 103 (2003-15), and those teams won 89 times.
The peak experiences came in capturing the 2011 World Cup and backing that up with another title in ’15. Only 20 players in history have won two World Cups — 14 of them coming from those combined New Zealand teams.
Outside of toiling for All Blacks, Nonu played for more than a decade on the Hurricanes, his hometown pro team in Wellington, New Zealand, scoring 240 points in 126 appearances. After the ’15 World Cup and the honor of being New Zealand’s Player of the Year, he cashed in by going to one of the top French clubs, Toulon, where Nonu notched 70 points in four seasons.
The time in may have cost Nonu a chance to make the All Blacks 2019 World Cup squad. He wasn’t picked, and
New Zealand missed making the final, won by South Africa over England.
Auckland was Nonu’s latest stop in 2019, and though the Blues finished near the bottom of the table, Nonu was deemed to have contributed positives at his advancing age.
“It’s one thing to be experienced and another thing to be successful,” Nonu said. “That’s my goal. Being here with the Legion is not about seeing the sights and traveling in America. I’m here to win.”
