Leinster rugby fans will have a fairly fresh memory of the destructive capabilities of Nemani Nadolo. In October two tries from the Fijian helped Montpellier to a 22-16 win over the province in the Champions Cup, and while Leinster impressively reversed that result at the RDS in January they could be forgiven for not wanting to see too much of him in the near future. Imagine, then, if Nadolo's next appearance in Dublin was not in the RDS but Croke Park. And imagine if he was donning the red of Cork.
Former Munster scrum-half Tomas O'Leary, who captained Cork to an All-Ireland Minor Hurling title in 2001, is currently playing at Montpellier and we suspect that it's his influence that has caused Nadolo to discover hurling and produce one of the most brilliantly accurate summations of the sport and the sheer hardness of its participants (all within 140 characters, of course).
Just fell in ❤️ wit a sport called Hurling.It's like watching hockey n rugby in 1.seen a bloke get hit in da head wit a stick n carried on😳
— nemzy (@nemani_nadolo) February 19, 2017
He's then replied to by Munster's Simon Zebo, who can't resist the chance to take the mickey out of his old mate from Munster and Ireland duty - to which Nadolo responds with a photo of the aforementioned O'Leary lifting the minor hurling trophy (ah, the wonders of the Internet, eh?). Nadolo even commiserates O'Leary on Cork's loss to Dublin on Saturday night in the League.
I hear his the king of Cork.. 😂😂 unlucky bout last nights lost to Dublin.. chances in a cork jersey @Tomas_OLeary? 😝 pic.twitter.com/2f0mbGZZos
— nemzy (@nemani_nadolo) February 19, 2017
But the best was still to come. Nadolo immediately guaranteed himself a free pint anywhere he goes in Cork by paying tribute to one of the county's most famous hurling families, the Ó hAilpín clan (he left out Aisake, but we'll let him away with it). Erin's Own man Shane Murphy wasn't slow on the uptake.
Thinking of moving to @OfficialCorkGAA @ErinsOwn_GAA with @Tomas_OLeary and becoming the third Fijian Cork superstar #SeánÓg #Setanta #Fiji
— nemzy (@nemani_nadolo) February 19, 2017
@nemani_nadolo @OfficialCorkGAA @ErinsOwn_GAA @Tomas_OLeary can we just get your name as gaeilge for the registration please ??
— Shane Murphy (@shanem_4) February 19, 2017
Of course Nadolo isn't the first Fijian to come across the brilliance of hurling and Sean Og. Here's Sean Og teaching hurling to the Fiji rugby team in Dublin in 2009 (courtesy of Sportsfile):
Nadolo could be the boost Cork badly need at the minute. Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh once said that Fiji wasn't a "hurling stronghold". That won't be the case for much longer, it's fair to say.
