Isa Nacewa’s absence from playing 'not a problem'

Somebody once said that making a comeback is one of the most difficult things to do with dignity. Isa Nacewa will soon find out after a two-year absence from playing whether his return to Leinster for next season is a dignified return or misplaced hubris from one of the best overseas players they have ever had.

The comeback trail is littered with corpses across all sports, although in Nacewa's case the belief that he is different from most other players has prompted Matt O'Connor to throw him a lifeline. Rugby is too ruthless and pragmatic for the gesture to be anything but founded on good Auckland intelligence that tells O'Connor this decision is sound business that will work.

It is clearly a punt and O’Connor said as much when the confirmation of the utility back’s arrival was madeon Thursday. Nacewa has not played any meaningful rugby since his retirement at the end of the 2013 season, almost two years ago.

“He hasn’t played in a bit but he hasn’t been alien to a rugby environment either working with the Auckland Blues as a mental skills coach and he has really enjoyed his time there,” said O’Connor. “He has kept himself in good shape and was always in regular contact with some of the lads here like Leo [Cullen].”

Bernard Jackman, who played with Nacewa and is now an astute observer and coach at Grenoble, believes this is one signing that will not come back to haunt O'Connor or Leinster chief executive Mick Dawson.

“I wouldn’t be going around looking for guys who have been away from rugby for two years,” said the former Ireland hooker. “But having played with Isa, I would have no problem with him coming back to Leinster.

“I think that it is doable for him. He’s different to very many other players. We’d a guy over here coaching with the Auckland Blues and I didn’t know it but he said Isa was taking part in the fitness stuff with the Blues players. He’s in very good shape.

“So he has done a lot of the non-contact stuff. The guy thought he could play.”

Immersed

Nacewa has always been a player who took care of himself. He wasn’t a big socialiser and all three of his children were born in Dublin and lived in Dundrum. In an interview with

The Irish Times

in the December after his retirement, he seemed to have already immersed himself in rugby as a mental skills coach in Auckland but hankered after life in Dublin, especially around Christmas time.

In his five seasons with the province he won three Heineken Cups, an Amlin Challenge Cup and a Rabodirect Pro12 title and in 2011 he became the first overseas player to be named Irupa player of the year.

However, none of that ensures an easy transition from the sideline back into a game that if anything has become more physical in the intervening years. As well as that there are a number of new faces in the squad with whom he hasn’t played before. In his favour, Nacewa never relied on brawn too heavily and although he broke his arm in his first game for Leinster, he was a smart player, who remained largely injury free.

“Two years without contact could be seen as being a benefit as well,” says Jackman. “The body has had rest and it means he’ll be fresh. Sure being away from the game that long there is a massive gap.

“But he knows it is a risk for Leinster to ask him to come back and play for them. I would think he’ll be looking to pay back that opportunity that Leinster are giving him. It’s not like he’s a boxer coming back into the ring for one final big payday. He has a job coaching. He’s involved in other commercial things in New Zealand so he is coming back for the right reasons.”

He's also a fix for one of Leinster's most serious problems this season, which has been the team's results when the international players were absent. That's exacerbated next season by the World Cup in September and it's there Jackman believes the New Zealander will excel.

Six Nations window

This year Leinster lost their position in the top four in the Pro12 when they gathered just nine points from a possible 20 during the Six Nations Championship. In previous years the points earned in that window was up at 18 and 19.

“Look at Leinster this year. The big weakness was when players were on international duty. Isa can be relied on to up his performance and be remarkably consistent,” says Jackman. “That doesn’t always happen with foreign players.

“I know how gifted he is genetically. He’ll have no problem stepping back into a rugby playing environment. Other players yes. Isa, no.”