Will Ma'a Nonu Leave New Zealand as an All Black Great?

No one has worn the No. 12 jersey for the All Blacks more than Ma'a Nonu. Despite having played at outside centre and on the wing at various stages of his career, Nonu has undoubtedly made the All Blacks No. 12 jersey his own in recent years. 

But is he an all-time great?

Having signed on to play for Toulon after next year's World Cup, the end is now in sight for Nonu's All Black career.

At his very best, he had it all. A destructive runner with ball in hand, he gained go-forward with ease and used a well-rounded skill set to pose a threat in distributing and offloading. Defensively he formed a brick wall in the midfield along with long-time midfield partner Conrad Smith.

But what sticks out in the mind with Nonu are his inconsistencies. 

Despite bursting onto the scene in 2003 as a blockbusting outside centre, it was not until 2009 that he really looked convincing as a safe option in the midfield.

His early career was dogged with a tendency to rush up on defence, which left a spot greatly exposed in the line, while also being prone to mind lapses both on attack and in his discipline.

It took him a long time to stamp these flaws out of his game. But stamp them out he did, and by 2009 he looked a far more measured, intelligent player, while retaining the destructive ability that made him so attractive in the first place.

Injuries throughout 2009 and the beginning of 2010 showed just how important he was for the All Blacks. While the likes of Stephen Donald, Isaia Toeava and Benson Stanley were tried at inside centre, none brought with them the combination of threat and security that Nonu did.

After returning from injury, his form in 2010 was of the highest class as he became a key cog in the All Black machine that won everything there was to win that year. 

By this stage, he had really begun to look intelligent in how he approached his attack.

His footwork had improved, and he used this to create a weak shoulder in his defender, making him even harder to tackle. This is a skill that is taught extensively through the age grades in New Zealand and Nonu became a prime example of how to execute it to perfection.

He was at his best receiving ball at the line, where he could run intelligent angles off the ball to wrong-foot his opponent.

Along with this, he was a player who would go looking for work, often remaining in support after having created for his outsides.

But he did have his limitations.

His Super Rugby form over the past three years has been mediocre at best and showed that while he fits in well to a team like the All Blacks, he is not so potent in a team where he is the key man.

He runs well off a quality fly-half and operates well when receiving front-foot ball at the line. When he is not getting this, he has a tendency to fall back on crashing the ball in midfield coming back on a slight angle. In other words, he is not threatening and is easy to read.

It is not exactly remarkable stuff.

While his form for the All Blacks in the meantime has been reasonably good, his limitations and Super Rugby form have cast a shadow over the past three years of his career.

These inconsistencies and limitations are hard to overlook when judging Nonu against the great All Blacks. Sure, he is a good All Black. But is he truly one of the very elite inside centres, or second five-eighths, to have worn the All Black jersey?

The obvious players to include in this group are Bert Cooke, Bill Osborne and Walter Little.

Cooke now enjoys near-mythical status in All Black history after his deeds with the invincible All Blacks of 1924. His all-round game has been described and revered by many over the years, and even the great George Nepia remarks in his autobiography I, George Nepia that he could not compare.

Osborne, near perfect defensively and an outstanding support player, formed perhaps the country's best-ever midfield pairing with Bruce Robertson and achieved greatness despite his many injuries.

Little meanwhile was overlooked for much of his career but went on to form another of the great All Black midfield pairings, with Frank Bunce. He was a threat with ball in hand and possessed a good kicking game.

Whether Nonu has reached that same level of greatness is questionable. While you could argue what he did in 2010 and 2011 was as good as you could expect from an inside centre, his inconsistencies and periods of poor form are hard to overlook.

It perhaps then comes down to your criteria. Do you simply look at each player at their best? Or is longevity important? Indeed, if longevity is important, then one could argue Osborne is hamstrung—literally—by the injuries that dogged his career.

Nonu no doubt pushes for inclusion in this group and there are those who would choose to include him among New Zealand inside-centre royalty.

But it has never been completely convincing that he has stamped all of the weaknesses out of his game, and he remains prone to the occasional lapse, while his limitations have been exposed at Super Rugby level.

That really holds him back.

Despite this, he will be remembered as one of the better All Blacks to have worn the No. 12 jersey. Perhaps not in the top three but quite possibly at that next level down.

He still has time, though. A strong performance at next year's World Cup would add to his case, and as we saw in 2011, Ma'a Nonu does know how to bring it when it really matters.