The EPCR European Player of the Year nominees has been announced with the Champions Cup finalists dominating the shortlist of candidates.
Flying Fijians lock, Leone Nakarawa is the only Pacific Islander on the list amongst four other top players in Europe.
His attributes remain as an instrumental presence with his strong offloading, solid carrying and footwork.
The line‑out may be his key strength, but away from that, he puts in a serious shift to get on the ball and put teammates in formidable attacking positions.
In defence, he can tackle hard, win his own ball and show serious willingness at the breakdown.
He tops the offload standings in the Champions Cup with 19 and is second in carries with 104 just one behind Munster’s CJ Stander.
To underline his influence in the game, World Rugby recently ranked him third in their top‑100 players in the world behind Owen Farrell and Beauden Barrett.
The other nominees include Scott Fardy (Leinster), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster), Maxime Machenaud (Racing 92) and Johnny Sexton (Leinster).
[Source:planetrugby.com]
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