Demanding legacy

“All Blacks centre Ma’a Nonu believes the team’s success comes from always striving to improve their performance and like every All Black [Telegraph reporter Paul Ackford has] ever come across, Nonu is reluctant to be drawn on the mystique of the brotherhood.” “I ask [Nonu] why the All Blacks are so damn good. Superior skill sets? The pull of peer pressure? ‘I’m not sure,’ he says. ‘I think it’s because we always want to get better and we always want to win. I’m sure that’s the case with other nations, but our strength is that we win when we’re not perfect.’ Nonu is not unusual among elite athletes in viewing setbacks as more wholesome motivational fodder than crushing victories, but it’s the need for perfection which is rarer. Most international sides are happy simply to win games. That’s tough enough in itself. But New Zealand’s benchmarks are set higher, elevated by the weight of their history and the achievements of their predecessors. It’s a demanding legacy.” Nonu was born in Wellington and attended Rongotai College.