All Blacks: Nonu still defying the odds

Ma'a Nonu just keeps going. Photo / Greg Bowker

In an ideal world, Ma'a Nonu would have made his 100th Super Rugby appearance in Wellington, defeating the Crusaders and outplaying Sonny Bill Williams.

But Ma'a Nonu has never lived in the ideal world which is why he's now likely to play his 100th game for the Hurricanes at Eden Park against the Blues on March 19.

Few players have had to deal with more dramas than Nonu and it is fitting he should be stranded on 99 caps - having been denied the opportunity due to suspension, byes and cancellations.

The fact he won't be able to play until March 19, four weeks after being sent off against the Highlanders, won't bother him so much in the context of bringing up his century. Whether it be in Wellington, Auckland or wherever, it will be a big landmark but it's not going to be the focus of his season. He will, however, be a little edgy about reaching April's doorstep with just one game under his belt.

If there was a general lesson to be learned from 2007, it was surely that players like to play. If there was a specific lesson for Nonu, it was surely that it is still possible to play your way out of the All Black squad.

A disastrous campaign for the Hurricanes in 2007 saw Nonu fall from being the starting second five-eighths for the All Blacks in November to not even first reserve.

He's a different player now, world class and invaluable to the All Blacks - but, still, he'll no doubt be more content when he's back on the paddock, the big celebration behind him.

That's not to say everyone else should overlook his achievement of playing 100 games for the Hurricanes. Reaching that landmark, a bit like when he won his 50th All Black cap last year, serves as a reminder of how far he has come since 2003.

When he was left out the starting XV to play in the 2003 World Cup knockout rounds, who would have thought he'd still be here eight years on, a vital part of the squad? When he wasn't picked for the 2007 All Black squad, who would have thought he had the strength of character to fight back again?

Whatever Nonu has endured, he's somehow managed to learn from it and grow with it. Those of a lesser constitution would have given up the ghost - headed to Europe and counted the cash. Not Nonu; his perseverance has been outstanding.

His ability to refine his game - to cut out the bulk of the needless errors that were preventing him from winning regular selection - took enormous amounts of self-discipline and self-control.

Just as he finally seemed to have cemented his place and won everyone over, along came Sonny Bill to shake up Nonu's world. It has never been easy for Nonu but he's always got there.

Eden Park needs to acknowledge a man who continues to defy the odds.