JUST 10 GAMES into his Munster career, Alex Nankivell is already a fan favourite.

The 27-year-old Kiwi centre has settled in well after joining last summer and though Nankivell feels there is still plenty more to come from him, he has won supporters over with his combative qualities.

In a position where Munster have struggled to develop homegrown products, Nankivell is a very Munster-esque player in terms of that confrontational attitude.

At 6ft 2ins and around 100kg, he is not a gigantic man in the world of professional rugby but he is powerful and while the slick offloading we saw from him regularly for the Chiefs and Tasman in New Zealand has yet to come to the fore, he has been a focal point for Munster on both sides of the ball so far this season.

His belligerent work-rate in Toulon last weekend only furthered his popularity with the Munster faithful, with moments like the one below typifying Nankivell’s performance.

The Munster inside centre drives his left shoulder into a tackle on Toulon’s Jeremy Sinzelle, then attempts to rip the ball away from Sinzelle before he goes to ground. Once Sinzelle is down, Nankivell then jackals looking for a turnover.

Toulon scrum-half Ben White is in support to deny Nankivell a shot at the ball for a poach but the Munster centre’s effort doesn’t end there. As we see below, he barges back at White on the counter-ruck.

Nankivell continues to fight as replacement Toulon prop Bruce Devaux arrives, with Munster back row Gavin Coombes following Nankivell in and attempting to hook the ball backwards with his foot, which is legal.

Munster don’t win a turnover here but it’s clear how much hassle Nankivell causes as he refuses to stop fighting. 

The former All Blacks XV midfielder did come up with a crucial turnover in his game, jackaling successfully in the first half to win a penalty for Munster.

Nankivell combines with centre partner Antoine Frisch in a tackle on Toulon’s Waisea Nayacalevu, bringing him to ground and then showing just enough of a release to satisfy referee Nika Amashukeli before snapping onto the ball.

We can see how Nankivell gives himself a wide base here and his opposite number, Duncan Paia’aua can’t clear him away. It’s a penalty for Munster and a chance to kick down into Toulon territory.

This was Nankivell’s second breakdown poach in three Champions Cup games, while he has won five in his seven URC games for Munster. Even when he doesn’t complete the turnover, Nankivell is capable of slowing opposition ball.

In the example above, Nankivell is warned off the ball by Amashukeli but only after greatly delaying the Toulon recycle.

It’s of obvious benefit to any defence to have a midfielder like Nankivell who is a jackal threat, meaning there is always a breakdown presence even when the poachers in the forward pack aren’t close to the ball.

Nankivell’s deceptive strength also makes him a good grappler in the tackle when he can’t get at the ball, as he shows below against Toulon loosehead prop Dany Priso, denying him the gainline and also giving his team-mates extra time to set the defensive line.

Nankivell’s turnover focus can prove a little detrimental in some instances, as below when his attempt to strip the ball from Facundo Isa is unsuccessful at the same time as primary tackler Jack Crowley falls off the Toulon back row.

Nankivell will be determined to make every shot count in defence with Munster as he grows into defence coach Denis Leamy’s way of working, but he is clearly loving the license to go after momentum-shifting turnovers.

He is still adapting to the change in system from the Chiefs, who always looked for maximum width defensively and then raced forward attempting to pressure the attack from the outside, meaning Nankivell was usually man-on, coming up and in. 

In contrast, he has found that Munster start tighter and attempt to put more pressure on the attack from the inside. That means Nankivell has found himself getting caught on his inside shoulder on occasion. 

In the instance below, the bounce of the ball complicates matters but Nayacalevu gets to Nankivell’s inside shoulder and the Munster man slips off his tackle attempt as the powerful Fijian gets the ball away even with Niall Scannell taking him down.

The slick Toulon handling produces a try for Cornell du Preez that Munster would have been disappointed with.

Earlier in the game, Toulon wing Jiuta Wainiqolo created a stunning try for the French side when he gobbled up a kick from Crowley. The Munster out-half’s kick made sense but didn’t have enough power on it to get in behind Wainiqolo.

As we can see below, Nankivell is the closest chasing player when Wainiqolo gathers and the Munster centre eases off as he looks for team-mates to connect with him.

Nankivell’s frustration at the lack of pace in the chasing line infield is obvious as he gestures for more, but it would be interesting to know how Munster reviewed this one.

Does defence coach Leamy want Nankivell to go all-out at Wainiqolo even with the obvious threat of getting stepped? Or does he want Nankivell to ease off if others haven’t got through on the chase line? 

As well as being a turnover leader for Munster, Nankivell has been a crucial ball-carrier when they’re attacking.

His 41 carries in three games make him Munster’s busiest carrier in the Champions Cup so far and he has beaten 19 defenders along the way.

In the URC, Nankivell’s 50 carries leave him behind only the relentless Gavin Coombes [121] and Shane Daly [78]. Nankivell has beaten 19 defenders in the league.

Nankivell’s efforts with ball in hand were key again last weekend. Take his superb carry before Calvin Nash’s second-half try.

Munster have a scrum just outside their own 22 and while they would have hoped to get over the gainline before kicking, they couldn’t have expected a near 20-metre gain from Nankivell.

Lining up at first receiver with options to pass short to Frisch or out the back to Crowley, the Munster number 12 steps inside Toulon out-half Dan Biggar and immediately back outside to bamboozle him, then powers into the tackle of scrum-half White.

It’s a huge win for Munster, who play one phase to the right and then Craig Casey hangs up a brilliant box kick ino the five-metre channel that Nash superbly plucks out of the air to race clear and score.

Nankivell is an expert at getting an advantage right before contact, as he does again below.

Watch how Nankivell shifts to his left just before receiving the ball from Crowley, meaning he gets to the outside of Paia’aua and into his arm rather than his shoulder.

Nankivell scored a first-half try in this game from close range after some excellent Munster build-up attack.

We can see him below calling the space before Casey makes a good decision to fizz the ball across the face of Frisch to Nankivell.

Nankivell finishes through the passive effort from Nayacalevu and Malevyn Jaminet.

Again, we can see how Nankivell uses footwork before contact, slowing his feet to accept the pass, then bursting to the outside of Nayacalevu and into the space.

The Kiwi midfielder has a habit of making yards even when it looks like he has run out of space, as we saw in the first half down the left-hand side.

A bouncing ball again proves tricky for the defence as Wainiqolo thinks it will hop up to Daly, leaving Nankivell to sneak around him.

Nankivell then steps back inside Nayacalevu and ducks underneath the challenge of du Preez to make more progress upfield. He finishes with a nice clean place of the ball.

One of the big similarities between Munster and the Chiefs in attack is how they ask their backs to swing late into position, working hard to get from one side of the ruck to the other looking to create overlaps or just advantageous one-on-ones.

It has been no surprise to see Nankivell offering this kind of movement and work-rate.

In the instance below, Nankivell [highlighted in yellow] is initially out on the left touchline offering width.

Two phases later, Nankivell is swinging all the way over to the right-hand side to pop up outside Daly, who has also worked across to swing into shape late.

There’s no linebreak for Munster and they don’t make much progress upfield but it’s an example of the off-the-ball work that attack coach Mike Prendergast encourages.

And in this instance, the slick handling from Coombes in the middle of the forward pod allows Daly and Nankivell to explore the edge of the Toulon defence. Two phases later, Crowley chips over the top for Simon Zebo to score.

Like most Kiwi players, Nankivell’s catch-pass skills are good.

In the simple example below, he gets an excellent pass from Casey, draws Wainiqolo on the edge and sends Daly into a bit of space near the touchline.

Nankivell is also adept in instances like the one below, which are so common for inside centres now.

The former Māori All Black is the first receiver on a lineout play and has Coombes running short as a front-door option, with Crowley available out the back.

Watch how Nankivell subtly ‘double pumps,’ dummying a pass initially as he straightens up to fix the defence and convince them that Coombes is a big threat, then releases the ball out the back for Crowley.

With Paia’aua having bitten down on Coombes, Crowley then has the time to draw Nayacalevu and slip Nash into space.

Something that hasn’t come to the fore yet is Nankivell’s offloading, which is understandable.

He was known as a bit of an expert in this area for Tasman and the Chiefs, often making spectacular offloads out of the tackle, but he is still getting to grips with the habits of a relatively new group of team-mates.

It’s certainly a part of the game he enjoys but he has done well not to force things in this regard too often, which is an easy trap to fall into.

But in the instance below, Nankivell could probably pass earlier, seems to see scope for an offload over Wainiqolo, and appears to end up caught between two minds.

It’s a frustrating turnover of possession for Munster but Nankivell has generally been very low with his error count.

The offloading will surely come in due course.

Both Nankivell and Munster believe he will only continue to improve with more time in the saddle alongside Frisch.

It’s an exciting prospect for Munster fans given that Nankivell has already earned their respect.