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Jimmy Gopperth Proves Wasps Are Strong as Ever

By Martyn Thomas
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Martyn Thomas recaps the weekend of the European Champions Cup where thrilling conclusions were found at every turn.

Speaking to Jimmy Gopperth ahead of Wasps’ European Champions Cup quarterfinal against Exeter on Saturday, the Kiwi fly-half was in modest mood.

“I’m just another cog in the back line,” he told me. “I don’t need to try too much, I just let the players do the work and try and put them in a bit of space.”

It was a typically understated comment from a No.10 who has quietly become one of the most accomplished playmakers in the European club game during spells with Newcastle, Leinster and now Wasps.

And he stayed true to his word at the Ricoh Arena, remaining calm with time running out to put England centre Elliot Daly clear, who in turn fed Charles Piutau to power over for his second try of the match.

With time expired, and a tight touchline conversion to come, the hosts had hauled themselves back into a contest they had trailed by 13 points with only the final quarter remaining.

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And for all the individual brilliance of Piutau, Daly and Frank Halai, Wasps’ place in the last four was dependent on the right boot of their fly-half.

Having missed a wide conversion from the opposite side of the pitch earlier in the half, Gopperth would have been forgiven for experiencing a few nerves as he stepped up.

However if he doubted himself, he kept it extremely well hidden as his arms were raised, biceps clenched, in celebration almost as soon as the ball left his boot.

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The cog had done its job, sending the ball spinning through the posts and the Wasps into the last four. Providing further evidence, if any were needed, that Danny Cipiriani will not be able to walk straight back into this Wasps team when he returns next season.

Wasps have won the competition on their previous two visits to the semifinals, but they will not be able to rely on history alone this year following the closest weekend of European quarterfinals of the last decade.

That five of the eight losers across the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup ties were beaten by less than a single try is nothing new. In fact it was the same last year.

But, crucially 12 months ago only two quarterfinals were settled three points or less, this year it was four. Indeed, for the first time since the 2009-10 season, two of the eight ties were settled by just a single point.

And these were not dour kicking affairs, either. Wasps’ narrow win over Exeter yielded 49 points and six tries, while Grenoble beat PRO12 leaders Connacht 33-32 in the Challenge Cup despite being outscored four tries to three by their visitors.

Even Leicester’s 41-13 dismantling of a below-par Stade Francais at Welford Road seems close when you consider three quarterfinals in the previous two years had been settled by 32 points or more.

Moreover, it was not merely a weekend rich in competitive rugby but also one on which the champions of both competitions fell.

Toulon, winners of the last three European Cups, had been given a bitter-sweet prize for navigating a tough Pool 5 behind Wasps and were unable to beat Racing 92 in northern France for the second time in a matter of weeks. Even with Maxime Machenaud’s late shank.

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Yet, the standout result of the weekend was arguably staged in England’s west country, where Newport Gwent Dragons arrived as a club in crisis and left having beaten Challenge Cup holders Gloucester on their own patch.

Erratic as the Cherry and Whites can be it was some way for the Welsh region to end a week in which they had been put up for sale.

The Dragons’ appearance in the last four of the second tier competition does, though, highlight the growing hegemony of the English and French clubs.

Connacht were unable to hold onto a commanding lead that would have seen them join them. But with the PRO12’s representation long eliminated from the Champions Cup, it was a weekend that did little to assuage the growing sense that Aviva Premiership and Top 14 clubs are sprinting off into the distance.

That is a problem that European Professional Club Rugby, PRO12 and its unions should address, but is also a debate for another time.

For now, the continent’s rugby fans should be allowed to bask in a thrilling weekend of action safe in the knowledge they have another to look forward to in a fortnight’s time.

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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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j
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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