Early career Nonu attended
Strathmore Park Primary School in Wellington, then attended
Rongotai College in
Wellington. At club level, he represented Oriental Rongotai in the
Wellington competition. He played for the Wellington Secondary Schools team in 1999–2000, and the Wellington Under 19s team in 2001. He also played
rugby league as a youngster.
Professional career and the All Blacks He made his provincial debut for Wellington in the 2002 NPC and debuted for the Hurricanes in the 2003 Super 12. He played for the New Zealand
Sevens in 2004. On the back of some outstanding Super 12 form, Nonu made his Test debut for the All Blacks on 14 June 2003, starting at centre in a 15-13 loss to
England. Nonu missed selection for the 2003
Tri Nations, with the selectors preferring Umaga,
Aaron Mauger and
Daniel Carter in the midfield. He was selected for the All Blacks'
2003 World Cup squad and played in pool matches against
Canada,
Italy and
Tonga. He scored his first Test try against Canada and was generally impressive on attack and easily breaking the line and his big stature was intimidating to the opposition. However, question marks over his defensive game and inexperience meant he was not selected for the knockout stage of the tournament despite an injury to Umaga. Nonu missed selection for the Tri Nations in 2004 after a form slump in the Super 12. He forced his way back into contention playing for Wellington in the 2004 NPC, and played as a substitute in all four matches on the All Blacks' undefeated end of year tour to Europe. Nonu played on the wing for much of the 2005 Super 12, with
Conrad Smith preferred as Umaga's midfield partner. Standout performances included a hat trick against 2004 Super 12 champions the
Brumbies. Nonu played at second five-eighth for the Possibles in the 2005 All Blacks trial, scoring two tries and setting up two more to inspire the Possibles to an upset win over the Probables. He played in the
second Test against the 2005
British & Irish Lions as a substitute, replacing
Sitiveni Sivivatu on the wing. He again missed selection for the 2005 Tri Nations. Wellington Lions captain Umaga was rested during the 2005 NPC, and in his absence Nonu was promoted to the captaincy of the team. During the NPC, he established himself as one of New Zealand's most dangerous midfield runners. He was selected for the 2005 All Blacks
Grand Slam tour, playing Tests as a substitute against
Wales and
Scotland, and earning his third Test start against
Ireland. He was cited for an alleged
spear tackle against
Brian O'Driscoll during the Test against Ireland, but was later cleared of the charge. In 2006 Nonu was ruled out of the Tri Nations squad due to injury,
Mils Muliaina being chosen to take his place. He damaged the base of his left thumb playing club rugby in Wellington, which required him to have surgery. He was, however, included in the end of year tour with the All Blacks. Due to his absence from the All Blacks Tri Nations squad, Nonu was able to play every game with the
Wellington Lions in the
Air New Zealand Cup, which greatly helped them. Nonu missed out on selection for the 2007 Rugby World Cup, with the selectors preferring
Aaron Mauger,
Luke McAlister, Conrad Smith and
Isaia Toeava in the centres. The game against
Argentina on 28 September 2013 marked a record fiftieth international game in combination with Conrad Smith.
Rugby league In December 2006, Nonu expressed a desire to switch codes to
rugby league and play in the
National Rugby League (NRL) after the
2007 Rugby World Cup. A move overseas was seen as more likely as he was not named in
Graham Henry's 2007 squad but was instead dropped to the Junior All Blacks. In 2008, Nonu returned to the All Blacks, starting in the majority of tests throughout the year, and regarded to be the All Blacks first choice inside centre.
2011 Tri-Nations & Rugby World Cup Nonu played his first international of 2011 in a friendly against
Fiji. He played in New Zealand's first
Tri-Nations game against
South Africa. The
All Blacks ended up winning 40-7. He then went on to play New Zealand's next game in the Tri-Nations against Australia where he scored the opening try. He played the final game of the tournament against Australia and scored his 21st international try. Nonu was selected for the All Blacks
2011 Rugby World Cup. He scored the final try in the All Blacks' opening match against
Tonga. On 23 October 2011, he played in the
final against France, which the All Blacks won by 8-7 to become world champions.
Ricoh Black Rams Following the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Nonu joined the
Black Rams Tokyo, in Japan, on a short-term 'sabbatical'. In 12 games for the Rams, he scored six tries and received one yellow card.
Blues On 1 July 2011, Nonu announced he had signed a two year contract with the
Blues. This was after the
Hurricanes announced he would not be resigned following the
2011 Super Rugby season. Nonu made his debut for the Blues in round three of the
2012 Super Rugby season. 2012 was a below average season for Nonu in terms of form and his struggle to return to the number 12 jersey for the All Blacks. Nonu's performances following his return from his Black Rams sabbatical were met with poor response and led to his exclusion from the match day 22 for the
Ireland test series. Nonu's place was filled by
Sonny Bill Williams, whose form and consistency kept Nonu out of the 12 jersey until Week 3 of the
2012 Rugby Championship. Due to injury to former Hurricanes teammate
Conrad Smith, Nonu returned to the All Blacks starting lineup in the first week of the inaugural Rugby Championship at 13, centre, with Sonny Bill at 12, forming what was considered the most 'destructive' centre pairing in rugby at the time. Nonu returned to the All Blacks number 12 jersey. Following Williams' departure to Japan and then the NRL, Nonu played all but one of the remaining tests at second five-eighth, except against Scotland where he came off the bench.
Super Rugby movements After one season in Auckland, Nonu moved to Dunedin, signing a one year deal with the
Highlanders for the
2013 Super Rugby season. After struggling to find a
Super Rugby team for 2014, (where all 5
New Zealand franchises initially stated they weren't interested in signing him), Nonu eventually turned down a lucrative offer to play for French
Top 14 side
Clermont, to return to the
Blues for another
season. In doing so, he made himself available to continue playing for the
All Blacks throughout 2014 and ultimately gain selection for the
Rugby World Cup the following year in
England. Nonu returned to the Hurricanes for the 2015 Super Rugby season, the team he left in 2011. It was speculated that the departure of former Hurricanes coach
Mark Hammett to the
Cardiff Blues paved the way for his return.
Toulon On 20 December 2014, it was announced Nonu would be joining
Top 14 side
Toulon after the
2015 Rugby World Cup on a two year deal.
2015 World Cup Nonu was selected as the starting inside centre for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, he played in nearly every pool game. Nonu played every knockout match and scored a 50m solo try to help the All Blacks beat Australia 34-17 in the final. In the
2016 New Year Honours, Nonu was appointed a
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to rugby.
Second Blues return Nonu signed with the Blues for the 2019 Super Rugby season.
San Diego Legion Major League Rugby announced in October 2019 that Nonu would play for the San Diego Legion in the 2020 season. Nonu was named captain of the San Diego Legion for the 2022 season. He played his last game for the club in July 2024 during the conference league semi-final, a loss to
Seattle Seawolves.
Return to Toulon Although having never officially retired, Nonu was thought to have played his last professional game the previous season. However, in February 2025, at the age of 42, he re-signed with his former club Toulon in the Top14 as a medical joker until the end of the season. In March 2025, he replaced
Gabin Villière off the bench during a league fixture against
Castres. Despite losing the game 28–26 he overtook the previous record holder,
Karena Wihongi for the oldest player ever to play in the Top14. In July 2025, he signed on a permanent one year deal ahead of the
2025–26 season. In October 2025, he became the oldest try scorer in Top14 history at 43 years old during a 33–17 victory over
Pau. Later that month, he extended this record with another try in a 45–21 victory against
Racing 92. This game also marked his 100th appearance for the club across his two stints. ==Playing style==