WATCH: 41-year-old Ma’a Nonu slots a PERFECT drop goal in MLR semi-final

Jared Wright
Former All Blacks centre Ma'a Nonu slotted a perfect drop goal in San Diego Legion's Major Rugby League (MLR) semi-final win over the Seattle Seawolves.

Former All Blacks centre Ma'a Nonu lines up a drop goal in the Major League Rugby semi-final

At the age of 41, Ma’a Nonu continues to produce standout moments in big matches and did so again in the Major League Rugby semi-final for San Diego Legion.

The former All Blacks centre is renowned for his extensive skill-set, and he flaunted it in the semi-final, helping his side to a 32-10 victory over the Seattle Seawolves.

Seattle’s defence held firm in the opening exchanges, and it was Nonu who finally broke the deadlock in the 11th minute of the match.

Ma’a Nonu’s drop goal

Nonu received the ball standing still and with the left-hand side of the pitch well covered by the Seawolves, he opted for the drop goal.

It was a clean strike by the 103-Test All Black as the ball sailed through the uprights to open the scoring.

Nonu continued to impress and shortly after the restart he executed a 50/22 kick to march his side back up the pitch.

Again, the Seawolves’ defence kept San Diego at bay until the 25th minute. 

Loosehead prop Faka’osi Pifeleti would get the match’s opening try after a penalty from Will Hooley as San Diego opened up a 13-0 lead after 25 minutes.

Jordan Chait’s penalty ensured that Seattle wouldn’t go into the break scoreless, and soon after half-time, they looked to be celebrating again when Samu Manoa powered over the line, but his score was chalked off for a knock-on in the build-up.

Tomas Aoake dived over in the corner after a wonderful break from centre Marcel Brache to further extend the Legion’s lead.

Brache went from provider to scorer as he pounced on a deft kick-through from Shilo Klein to open up a 27-3 advantage.

Ben Landry gave some hope for the Seawolves when he crossed the whitewash over the line with 15 minutes left to play.

However, his score was countered at the next restart as Aoake got on the end of Mike Te’o’s kick to race through untouched for his second try of the game.

San Diego will now face the New England Free Jacks in the Major Rugby League final on July 8.

READ MORE: Who’s hot and who’s not: Landmark week for Italian and Georgian rugby, Zach Mercer’s omission and concerning new tournament