Edinburgh newcomer Nasi Manu believes former Highlanders team-mate John Hardie would bring physicality and top-class breakdown skills to the party if he was selected in Scotland’s Rugby World Cup squad today.
Scotland head coach Vern Cotter will announce his 31 men for the showpiece event in England and Wales in Edinburgh just after lunchtime and Hardie is involved in a battle for back-row spots along with nine other players.
Hardie, who made his Scotland debut against Italy just over a week ago, played alongside Manu in the Super Rugby competition in New Zealand and the latter rates the former.
“John is a physical player, but he can carry the ball as well and his breakdown work is pretty special also,” Manu explained. “It is hard to compare John to other players in the northern hemisphere for me, but I grew up with him, we played age group rugby together and I obviously rate him highly and he seemed to go alright in his Scotland debut last week.”
Manu himself is keen to make an impression on the Scottish rugby public, starting on Friday night when Edinburgh open their Guinness PRO12 campaign at home to Leinster at Meggetland. The strapping 27-year-old No.8 arrived in the capital earlier this month fresh from helping the Highlanders to Super Rugby glory.
As a result much is expected of the New Zealander in the coming months and he said: “I felt like I was ready for a new challenge and I really wanted to come overseas to Europe. I like physicality and I wanted to experience European rugby and see for myself how good it is here. I have only been training for two weeks, but I am pretty impressed with how good our forward pack is at Edinburgh. Our set-piece and maul is good and as a No.8 it is good to have a solid front five in front of you.
“The thought of making my competitive debut is exciting, but I am a bit nervous because there are a lot of good players around and I don’t think a guaranteed spot in the team is mine. I have just got to have a good week of training, put my best foot forward and hopefully be involved in the Leinster game. They are trying to build a culture here at Edinburgh – and from what I have seen already I am enthusiastic.”
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