Heineken Heroes: Napolioni Nalaga

With the Heineken Cup showpiece in the Aviva just days away, JOE takes a look at Napolioni Nalaga, one of the star performers in Clermont Auvergne’s march to their first ever final.

By Declan Whooley

There is little doubt that Clermont Auvergne are a team littered with star names, but Nalaga has been one of the players of the tournament.

The Fijian wing has had his most consistent season in yellow and tops the try-scoring charts this season with seven and will look to add to that tally in the Aviva Stadium against an able Toulon defence.

The Pacific Islander appeared in four Heineken Cup campaigns after his debut in the 2007/08 campaign and showed a steady consistency with 10 tries in 14 European games for an outfit that at times prioritised their domestic duties.

Last season Nalaga move to Australia and played for the Western Force in the Super XV, but Clermont made the shrewd decision to bring the 16-stone winger back to the Marcel Michelin during the summer. And he has rewarded them richly for that decision.

Not only is his try scoring impressive, all other stats point to a stellar campaign. He has more carries (94), more metres gained (667) and more defenders beaten (26) than any other player this campaign. His 13 clean breaks put him second in the list, but it’s not hard to see why the French side were so keen to bring the Fijian international back.

The Leinster defence with their hands full during the Pool stages

He scored what proved to be Clermont’s only try in the nervy win over Munster in the semi-final and at times in the first half in particular looked to be causing Rob Penney’s side a lot of problems. In fact, only the games against Leinster has he failed to get on the scoresheet, though his contributions in those games were still highly noteworthy.

Nalaga, whose father Kavekini also represented Fiji in the '80s on the wing, will be a marked man by Toulon on Saturday. Whether they will be effectively able to curtail his attacking prowess remains to be seen.