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Wasps fuming over reports Sopoaga is leaving the club

Lima Sopoaga of Wasps signs autographs for young fans as he arrives for the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Sale Sharks and Wasps at AJ Bell Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Salford, United Kingdom. (Photo by Lynne Cameron/Getty Images)

Wasps are fuming at reports suggesting star flyhalf Lima Sopoaga is eyeing up an early exit from the club.

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The Times are reporting that the former All Black star has sensationally requested to leave the club, just one year into a lucrative contract.

RugbyPass understands however that Wasps are fuming over the report and that the highest authorities in the club have described it as nonsense.

The former Highlander has struggled adjusting to the rugby in the Northern Hemisphere since arriving at the Ricoh Arena last summer.

He’s currently out injured but is set to return this weekend. The ex-All Black has been open about his frustrations with his club form.

“I’d say after this year I will be evaluating the year that it has been. I’d say I will make a few adjustments heading into next season. It’s very physical over here. That is what I noticed straightaway, that guys are a lot bigger over here,” Sopoaga told RugbyPass last week.

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“It’s very dominated by physicality and that is a big difference. And you play so many games and have so many different competitions. Bouncing in and out of one or the other has been a challenge for me in learning how to deal with the rigours of rugby up here.”

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Sopoga claims that the club have lacked for confidence: “We have been on the wrong side of the ledger with the few games that we probably should have won. It just comes back to maybe a bit of confidence and sometimes that is a hard to thing to get.

“Unfortunately we have just missed the boat on a few of the games recently and we need to find that mojo quickly and get back to winning ways.

“When I first started rugby I was kind of like life or death and I used to get pretty dark (about losing), but having a family has definitely puts some perspective on winning and losing rugby games these days. It’s tough but at the end of the day when I go home and see my daughter, she is not worried about whether I have won or lost a football game. She just wants to see her dad. Sometimes things are really put into perspective.

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Philip 3 hours ago
Should England stick or twist with Borthwick? RWC27 clock cannot be used as an excuse

SB won one premiership playing his brand of Rugby but then the other teams found them out, fronted up physically and Tigers game plan was exposed. Under Parling they are a much more attractive version of the Tigers. When the current coaching team were appointed my heart sank because they are inexperienced at test level, they bring nothing fresh and the approach they bring is inflexible. They are completely out of their depth (Blackett apart) I agree what on earth is Wigglesworth doing coaching defence? Think the results speak for themselves. Some of their selections have been unfathomable and lacking imagination. Freeman is not a 13 at the highest level. He is a world class winger. Steward same; just not the same standard as Ramos, Kinghorn and Keenan (when he is fit).Furbank has to come into the equation. Marcus is a 10 not a 15 but he needs a strong 12 to play around. It is way too soon for Pollock to be in the side and he is increasingly a distraction. We need a proper 8 as well. Last night I watched Lawrence, Ojomoh et al take a good Saracens side apart. Why can’t England play like Bath Bristol and Northampton? The answer is because SB doesn’t believe in that style or maybe doesn’t understand how to implement it. The time for change is now not after the RWC. Most England fans would forgive getting beaten in South Africa and Argentina over the summer if there was a new regime in place and signs of change. Fans pay well over the odds to watch England play boring ineffective rugby. I can’t see it happening, but boycotting home games is probably the only message the RFU would understand. The list of names available all represent an improvement. I would also add Rob Baxter; not a fan of Exeter but he always speaks a lot of sense. All said, it’s depressing to think that we are saddled not only with a poor coaching team, but also with the RFU none of whom should be allowed anywhere near the national team(s). Sweeny et al are the real culprits in all of this.

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