The 78 minutes that told an All Black this Wallaby must take on the Lions
That is the opinion of Queensland Reds teammate Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, a former All Black who declared the 24-year-old had the 'mongrel'.
Injuries have threatened to derail the Reds' Super Rugby Pacific ambitions, and Nonggorr was forced to dig deep in last week's 31-27 loss to the Kiwis. He will start again in the final-round clash with the Fijian Drua in Brisbane on Saturday.
Toomaga-Allen, who will remain in Queensland until at least the end of 2026, believed Nonggorr had demonstrated the skill, physicality and durability needed to take on the Lions, having done so himself for the Hurricanes in 2017.
'He's ready, man, he's ready. With the consistency he's showing ... he's becoming Mr Reliable,' Toomaga-Allen said.
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'A lot of people don't see the amount of work he puts in off the field – the man's on the bike, the man's sauna-ing, he's the first in and last to leave.
'He's a great example for other young players coming through – he leads by example, and I'm not surprised he can go for 75, 80 minutes.
'He lost a bit of weight in the off season, he's in good shape, and mentally he's gone to another level. I hope people can see that he's bringing a bit of mongrel about him, which is what we've been working on.'
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