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The buildup to this Saturday night’s third Bledisloe Cup test has been about as low key as a South African Jerome Garces appreciation party.
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However, while the game is meaningless in terms of the over-sized cup finding a new home across the ditch, there are a couple of interesting storylines. The first of which is that everyone seems to have forgotten that the last time these two teams played, it was one of the greatest test matches in recent memory.
Also, it’s the first time this season that the All Blacks will take the field without 2016’s World Player of the Year Beauden Barrett. Again though, this hasn’t really caused a much of a stir among All Black supporters – given that the guy coming in to fill the number 10 jersey has a reputation of reliability and nerveless goal kicking ability.
Because of Barrett’s head injury against the Springboks, Lima Sopoaga is getting his second starting berth. Barrett’s irresistible form has meant he’s been more or less the first guy picked ever since he took over from Dan Carter, and Sopoaga has patiently bided his time on the bench – mostly playing a few cameo roles at the end of already decided tests.
The two notable exceptions to this were his only other start and the All Blacks’ most recent game. Both against the Springboks, both in highly pressurised situations.
In Johannesburg in 2015, Dan Carter’s injury gave Sopoaga a chance to make his debut at the cauldron that is Ellis Park. It’s also worth noting that the Springboks hadn’t quite hit the downhill slide that saw them lose to Japan and Italy, in fact they’d beaten the All Blacks the last time they’d played at the venue. Sopoaga made one of the more remarkable first test appearances, scoring 12 points off the boot in a flawless display and setting up a try for Ben Smith.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2J7jVGAUEQ
It’s also worth noting that his last outing in South Africa came at a time when the Springboks decided to cast off the mantle of being World Rugby’s basketcase, putting in an awe-inspiring effort to go down to the All Blacks 25-24 in Cape Town. Barrett’s aforementioned injury meant that Sopoaga played the majority of the game at first five, nailing a succession of crucial goal kicks in an assured performance. He was even at the centre of the defining play of the game, a botched charge down by Damian de Allende that ended up with the Bok midfielder being red carded.
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But this isn’t really anything new for the Wellington-born pivot. Sopoaga shifted south after a few seasons with his home province, seeing that his path to the Hurricanes 10 jersey would be blocked by rising star Barrett for more or less the rest of their careers.
His move to the Highlanders worked out pretty well, in the end. In a nice bit of irony he ended up playing against the franchise that watched him leave in the 2015 Super Rugby final. Despite the fact that the Hurricanes had massacred the Highlanders just a few weeks earlier in the regular season, Sopoaga guided the Highlanders to an unlikely 21-14 win at Westpac Stadium.
Cool, level-headed and dependable all sum up Sopoaga pretty well. Given that the All Blacks will be happy just to get in and out of Suncorp Stadium with a regulation win, a guy like that is all they need.
Comments on RugbyPass
After their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
2 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
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