Legendary New Zealand born Samoan centre Ma’a Nonu played in Major League Rugby in 2020, and again between 2022-2024. He represented the San Diego Legion for his entire MLR career.

A Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) and Wellington native, Nonu played with the Wellington U19 side in 2001 before joining the senior side in the Air New Zealand NPC competition (now known as the Bunning’s NPC, formerly known as the Air New Zealand Cup, ITM Cup, and Mitre 10 Cup. He played with Wellington between 2002-2010 and earned his Super 12 debut (now Super Rugby) in 2003, the same year he earned his All Blacks debut against England despite not being selected for the 2003 Tri-Nations. Nonu was included in the All Blacks’ 2003 Rugby World Cup squad and played in pool games against Canada, Italy, and Tonga. His first test try came against Canada. This would be the first of 3 RWCs that Nonu would play in, and the only one in which he did not finish as a World Champion.

Nonu played with the Hurricanes between 2003-2010, during which time he played against the British & Irish Lions in 2005. He missed out on All Blacks selection for the 2007 RWC and briefly switched to Rugby League, playing with the Junior All Blacks before returning to Union in 2008, when he became the All Blacks’ first choice centre. In 2011, Nonu was selected for the All Blacks’ RWC squad, appearing in the final in which NZ defeated hosts France 8-7 to lift the Webb Ellis Cup. Following the World Cup, Nonu made a move to Japan to play with the Ricoh Black Rams (now Black Rams Tokyo) in the Top League (now League One) for the 2011/12 season returning to the Super 12 to play with the Blues in 2012. Nonu moved to the Highlanders in 2013 and alternated seasons between the Blues and Hurricanes until 2015. His return to New Zealand made him eligible to represent the All Blacks at the 2015 RWC in England playing in every knockout game and scored a sensational try in the final to help win his 2^nd World Cup as New Zealand became back-to-back Champions.

Following the 2015 RWC, Nonu made a high-profile move to Toulon in the French Top 14, where he played alongside Wallabies legend (and future MLR teammate) Matt Giteau. Nonu played in France between 2015-2018, before returning to New Zealand with the Blues once more for the 2019 Super Rugby Season. Nonu made the move stateside ahead of the 2020 MLR season, signing with the San Diego Legion. In his debut MLR season, Nonu scored 3 tries in 4 games (all starts) before the season was cancelled after only 5 rounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonu then returned to Toulon, signing as a medical joker between 2020-2021 before returning to the Legion in 2022.

In his first two full seasons with the Legion, Nonu has earned 28 MLR caps (27 starts) and scored 3 tries. He appeared 13 times (all starts) during the Legion’s historic 15-1 regular season in 2023, and started both of their Championship Series games, scoring a drop goal in their Western Conference Final victory over the Seattle Seawolves, and attempted another in the Championship Final as the Legion fell 24-25 to the New England Free Jacks in Chicago. On 13^th January 2024, the San Diego Legion announced the return of Ma’a Nonu for the 2024 season where he was a regular in the starting lineup once again. He scored another 2 tries and started all 12 of his appearances, adding 365m gained to pass 1,500m in his MLR career. In total, Nonu scored 8 tries and started 43 of his 44 MLR appearances for the San Diego Legion, completing over 300 tackles in defence.

Nonu did not return as a player for the San Diego Legion in 2025, but was still heavily involved with the team and in March 2025 the team announced that Ma’a Nonu had joined the ownership group of the Legion. That same year, a 42yo Ma’a Nonu returned to Toulon as a medical joker in the French Top14 and became the oldest player ever to play in the Top14. Toulon re-signed Nonu for the 2025/26 campaign, so is still setting records with every game he plays. With the San Diego Legion merging with Rugby FC LA to create the California Legion in July 2025, it is unknown if Nonu remains a part of the ownership group of the Legion.

achievements:

• 2023 MLR Runner-Up – San Diego Legion
• T-6th in League Try Scoring: 2020 (3)
• MLR Team of the Week: 2020 – Round 4
• MLR Team of the Week: 2020 – Round 2
• MLR Team of the Week: 2020 – Round 1