All Blacks legend Ma’a Nonu makes bombshell South African move, signing for the Sharks
All Blacks legend Ma'a Nonu and an inset of Sharks head coach JP Pietersen.
All Blacks legend Ma’a Nonu will continue his professional rugby career in Durban after signing a short-term deal with the Sharks, the Durban club has confirmed.
The bombshell comes hot off the back of the double World Cup winner becoming the oldest player to ever feature in the Top 14 and Investec Champions Cup during a successful second spell at RC Toulon.
The Sharks will be the eighth different professional team that Nonu has represented after playing for Wellington, the Hurricanes, Black Rams Tokyo, Blues, Highlanders, RC Toulon, and San Diego Legion.
Sources informed Planet Rugby that Nonu was unsure about what the future held before the expiration of his contract at Toulon and spent a couple of weeks back in New Zealand pondering the Sharks’ approach before giving his decision.
Why the Sharks have signed Ma’a Nonu
While the Sharks have garnered a reputation for signing big-name players and Springboks on high salaries in recent seasons, Planet Rugby understands that the former All Blacks midfielder has agreed to join the Durbanites on a modest salary, with the 44-year-old eager to contribute to the team in a mentorship and leadership capacity in what could be his final professional contract.
Having put pen to paper on a deal with the side this week, Nonu will be tasked with mentoring the young centres and players at the Sharks, particularly Jurenzo Julius and Springboks star Ethan Hooker. It’s a particularly tantalising prospect for Julius, who the Bulls and other South African franchises have reportedly courted. The 22-year-old has struggled to nail down a starting role in the Sharks team due to the strong competition in the position but has featured more regularly since JP Pietersen took over as head coach, with the ex-Springboks winger shifting the exciting talent into the number 12 jersey.
Julius played mostly at 13 and on the wing under former head coach John Plumtree but impressed in the inside centre role under Pietersen, and Nonu’s arrival could fast-track that development as in his heyday, he was widely regarded as the best in the business. The All Blacks legend famously reinvented himself as an all-court, triple-threat – run, kick, pass – centre after being dubbed as a ‘crash ball number 12’ in his youth, and his short stint at the club and mentorship could be crucial in Julius and even Hooker’s development.
Furthermore, it is believed that Nonu could go a long way to improving the overall vibe and culture at the Sharks after the franchise conducted a comprehensive and objective review and restructuring of their High Performance System earlier this year.
That led to the permanent appointment of Pietersen as head coach, with Plumtree officially parting ways with the team, whilst Scott Mathie was recruited to run the team’s attack, Neil Powell moving into the Head of Junior Rugby position, while Dave Williams assumed the newly created General Manager role.
Stuart Barnes makes bold ‘the end’ prediction for Siya Kolisi regarding Springboks captaincy
The rugby-first reasons
The arrival of the All Blacks legend will certainly be a boost for the marketability of the Sharks and is bound to drive an uptick in ticket sales, particularly after the departure of Siya Kolisi. However, sources informed Planet Rugby that the move was a rugby-first-driven decision aimed at aiding the development of the young backs at the franchise and leaning on his insight into creating a positive culture and setting professional standards.
“Opportunities for someone of Ma’a’s calibre to spend time in our environment don’t come around often. While his achievements on field are exceptional, it is his professionalism, leadership and understanding of what it takes to consistently perform at the highest level, that makes this such an exciting opportunity for our club,” Sharks CEO Shaun Bryans said in a statement confirming Nonu’s signature.
“As we continue to build for the future, exposing our environment to world-class performers who have achieved sustained success is invaluable. His presence over the next few months will add significant value to our playing group through the mentorship, standards and rugby knowledge he will share with our team every day.”
Head Coach JP Pietersen added: “The best players don’t just leave memories, they leave standards. That’s what Ma’a brings. Every conversation, every training session and every interaction is an opportunity for our players to learn what excellence looks like.”
While head coach Pietersen was keen to add an internationally experienced fly-half to his ranks before the start of the 2026/27 season, the market for experienced number 10s has dried up. It had been reported that former Wallabies playmaker Bernard Foley will continue his career past his 36th birthday and rejoin the NSW Waratahs after a successful spell at the Kubota Spears.
Fellow Australian James O’Connor is reportedly keen on returning Down Under next year in a bid to make the Wallabies’ Rugby World Cup squad and has been in talks with several of the Super Rugby Pacific teams. The 36-year-old was linked with a move to the Sharks, but ultimately nothing materialised.
Reports in South Africa also linked the Durbanites with moves for Italian international Tommaso Allan – whose uncle John Allan played over 100 matches for Natal between 1988 and 1997 – but the Azzurri star will be off to Zebre instead. Irishman Ross Byrne was also linked with the side but is believed to be off to Perpignan, where he will fill Allan’s void.
The Sharks won’t be short on fly-half options though, with Jordan Hendrikse, Siya Masuku and Vusi Moyo all on the club’s payroll, the latter re-signed through to 2029 in January this year. The Durbanites fought off interest from several South African franchises to retain his services, with the 20-year-old making his debut in the final round of the URC.
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
He has since gone on to make his Test debut for the Springboks, starting in the recent 43-0 victory over Wales in the Nations Championship fixture at Kings Park. Rassie Erasmus has also included him in the Springboks squad for the Test match against Argentina and the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series against the All Blacks. It is believed that Nonu’s presence in the backline could help develop and improve the fly-halves too. Moyo’s rise to the international arena further bolsters the Sharks playmaking stocks, which makes the need for another new addition obsolete.
Nonu’s pedigree and Sharks’ intake
Despite being well into his 40s now, Nonu continues to perform at a mind-boggling level. During his second and most recent stint at RC Toulon, he played in both the centres and the back-row for the club and helped turn their fortunes around in the Top 14.
After a poor start to their season, Toulon enjoyed a fine run of form in the latter stages of the campaign to finish ninth overall and reached the semi-finals of the Investec Champions Cup, where they were beaten 29-25 by Leinster.
Nonu arrives in Durban boasting an incredible CV that includes 103 caps for the All Blacks, two Rugby World Cup titles, 174 Super Rugby caps, and over 400 first-class appearances.
The centre’s signing with the Sharks adds to what has already been a successful player recruitment for the Durbanites ahead of next season after securing the return of Springboks prop Thomas du Toit. Nemo Roelofse will further strengthen the front row stocks as will the arrival of Junior Boks captain and hooker Siphosethu Mnebelele. Lock Stephen Lewies also returns after a successful stint at Harlequins, where he captained the side to PREM Rugby glory in 2021 with Darrien Lansberg arriving from the Lions too.
Hendre Stassen has joined the side from Brive while scrum-half Ivan van Zyl has signed from Saracens. Gianni Lombard, Murray Koster and Donnon Don will bolster the backline stocks along with American Dominic Besag.
