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Nalaga hits top form in France
By fijitimes.com
Apr 10, 2008 - 1:59:23 PM
The latest Fijian export to make his mark at international level continues to impress in the France T14 competition.
Nalaga, who turned 22 on Monday and plays his trade with Clermont. is the top try scorer in the T14 competition.
His two tries in the recent 52-17 mauling of Albi gave him his fourth brace in a row, taking his tally to 10 tries for the season. The effort has helped Clermont take top place in the French championship.
Fiji Rugby Union High Performance Unit manager Peter Murphy said they had been in touch with Nalaga's agent regarding his availability.
"He (Nalaga) has been impressive and we are happy with his development," Murphy said.
"The youngster has been through the system and this included age group, Pacific Rugby Cup and sevens.
"The development done by Clermont on him has been excellent and he will be one of the key men for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand."
The Nasama native from Nadroga said he had enjoyed his every moment in France.
"My aim was to become the top scorer in the tournament and I'm happy to have done that," Nalaga told AFP.
Clermont officials did not have to travel too far to unearth the Fijian whose nicknames include Napo, Naps and Napoleon.
"We came across him in June 2006 during the under-21 World Cup in Auvergne," manager Jean-Marc Lhermet said.
"We kept an eye on his progress after the championship and we invited him to come to us for a trial. Nalaga made a huge first impression."
Nalaga weighs in at 108kg and stands at 1.87m; he has been clocked at under five seconds over 40 metres.
"In his first training session, we saw that he was unusual," said Clermont youth team coach Fabrice Ribeyrolles.
"For me he is the new Jonah Lomu. He doesn't look very quick but he is difficult to tackle.
Away from the game, he spends his free time with Clermont's other Fijian imports Seremaia Bai and Vilimoni Delasau and the three friends like nothing more than to sing gospel songs on a Sunday.
"It's very important that they are here," said Nalaga.
The youngster has been a try scoring sensation from a young age. He was the top scorer with seven tries in three games for the Fiji under-19 at the 2004 FORU RWC qualifiers. He helped his Nadroga U21 side win the Fiji Cup for two years.
The talented speedster was then moved to centre for the 2006 U21 Rugby World Championships in France which suited Nalaga's solid build. Fiji went on to defeat Scotland 21-19 and claim ninth spot in the world rankings. This is where he was noticed by the France club's scouts.
As a 20-year old, Nalaga forced his way into the Nadroga 1st XV where he improved in every game and helped his province win the Sanyo Cup and Fare brother Sullivan trophy.
Nalaga was named in the Digicel Fiji 7s side for the first leg of the 2006-07 IRB World 7s Series in Dubai and George by then coach Waisale Serevi.
He featured on the wing for Lelean Memorial School in the U19 Secondary Schools final draw 6-6 with rivals QVS in 2005. I
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