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'It's not all glitz and glamour' - Sopoaga opens up about tough transition to Wasps

By Online Editors
Lima Sopoaga in action for Wasps. Photo / Lynne Cameron

Former All Black Liam Sopoaga has admitted his struggles since relocating to England in an interview with The Guardian.

Sopoaga moved north after the 2018 Super Rugby season to join Premiership club Wasps on a three-year deal.

The 27-year-old admits he is still searching for top form and has felt pressure after coming over as a marquee player in a crucial position.

“It’s not that I don’t love this but there are things that do get you down,” Sopoaga told The Guardian. “It’s not all glitz and glamour. A lot of the time people just see the 80 minutes, they don’t see what goes on behind closed doors and how winning and losing can affect players.”

Wasps currently sit fourth on the Premiership table with five wins and four losses to their name. The 16-test All Black is the first to admit that he is yet to live up to his hefty price tag.

“I take it all quite personally,” he said. “I know when I’ve been playing well and when I haven’t and, at the moment, I’m just not quite there.

“It’s not through a lack or preparation or not trying my best. I know guys who have come over in different positions who have also found it hard but when you’re such a focal point…”

At first-five eighth Sopoaga had big shoes to fill when joining Wasps, with Danny Cipriani moving on to Gloucester. Sopoaga feels that the responsibility that comes with his position has made the transition tough.

“If I came in as a full-back or a wing all I’d really need to do is know my moves, score tries, run fast and catch high balls. Here I’ve got to play chess and drive the bus. On occasions I’ve felt I’ve driven it well; on others I know I haven’t really nailed it.

“I feel that deeply and I shoulder a lot of that personally. Dropping balls or kicking out on the full are all things I can control.

“Coming over as a marquee player adds more pressure but there is no one with greater expectations of me than me.”

Sopoaga also spoke about the relative anonymity of northern hemisphere rugby in New Zealand.

“In New Zealand I don’t think we watch enough northern hemisphere rugby to truly appreciate it,” he said. “It’s out of sight, out of mind. Because we don’t see it we’re like: ‘Meh, whatever.'”

“Now, being amongst it, you’ve got some very skilled players and some pretty wicked talent. England have a very decent pack, some electric outside backs and a world-class 10. If you can get a fully-fit England team playing with the mindset they did against the All Blacks last month they’re going to give themselves half a chance.”

Sopoaga will next suit up for Wasps when they take on Toulouse for their next Champions Cup fixture.

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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