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Paul Lasike: 'Definitely, you can call not qualifying a silver lining'
Paul Lasike will be up early on Sunday in Salt Lake City, a curious appointment to view where he will be cheering on both teams in the first Rugby World Cup quarter-final of the day. On the one hand, there are his old Harlequins mates to enthuse about, the likes of Marcus Smith who is starting just his second Test with the No15 England jersey on his back.
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Lasike’s other hand, though, is pumping approval for Fiji and their return to this stage of the tournament for the first time in 16 years. He doesn’t have Fijian heritage; the New Zealand-born midfielder’s parents instead hail from neighbouring Tonga.
But donning his American hat, the ex-USA Eagles player is all in for France 2023’s sole tier two quarter-final representative. It’s in his long-term interest that the old order gets shaken up. In just eight years’ time, the States will be hosting the 2031 World Cup and they can’t be a failure if the sport is to go on and thrive there.
Lasike has no concern that the message will get out that the tournament is coming to America. “America is the king of advertisement,” he enthused to RugbyPass. But the famed land of opportunity is also notoriously known for championing success and ridiculing failure.
“I saw with the World Cup Sevens they had in San Francisco (in 2018), I don’t think they will have problems marketing the game out there, it will be just a matter of the American people if they can get behind it. You know they will spice it up, they will make it look good and appealing.
“It’s going to be massive for the country and massive for the game here in America, but in order for the game to really take off, the national team has to be good so we have got a bit of a challenge ahead of us getting it off the ground, getting it started at a younger age, all of those things, and so there is a lot of pressure and a lot of things we have got to get done.”
The benefit of hindsight has Lasike suggesting there was a silver lining to America not qualifying for France 2023. Portugal denied them with a last-gasp, result-tying penalty in Dubai last November – and we have since revelled in the sweet jazz the Iberian minnows have produced at the finals, culminating in last Sunday’s magical pool-stage win over Fiji in Toulouse.
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The Portuguese are a textbook case of how America can ambitiously aim to entertain in 2031 and capture the global imagination. They were also the reason why USA Rugby realised it badly needed up its game on the back of its desert qualification mishap 11 months ago.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” admitted Lasike. “It’s disappointing not qualifying this year but they have made a few changes at the top and they are basically starting from the ground up again as though it is a brand new sport.
“They have opened up the player pool to search far and wide for players rather than the last five to seven years where they kind of had the same core group. They are trying to mix that up because the USA is massive, there is lots of potential out there, lots of raw talent and if they can get traction that way then it will be like a curve.
“It will be slow to start but once it gets traction and once they find that, which I thought they always had but it has plateaued out a little bit, those big changes will hopefully pay off five, 10 years down the line. Things had to be changed. There were just a lot of things in place that had been stagnant. It’s a wake-up and definitely you can call it [not qualifying] a silver lining.”
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Lasike has lapped up how some tier-two countries have excitingly closed the gap in 2023. “It’s been awesome. Definitely, we have seen steps forward with tier two nations playing tier one. In terms of competition, that gap is closing. The World Rugby change that allows players to change country has been awesome and you can see the fruits of it, the likes of the island nations.
“Portugal has done really well. We got knocked out by them so it has been good to see their progress because they have got heaps of potential. It reminds me of the likes of Argentina as a tier two nation where they had massive potential. I’m really happy for Fiji, it has been awesome watching them. They have always had the potential to beat anyone on any given day the last few years, so definitely good luck to them.”
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It was 2019 when Lasike experienced the World Cup from a tier two perspective, making starts for the USA against England, Argentina, and Tonga. What way does he look back now on those finals in Japan? “A good experience overall. Some of the results were disappointing, just in terms of the performance.
“But it was a really cool experience. I was still relatively new to rugby because I only came back to rugby in 2018 from playing American football and it was literally that next year when I was at a World Cup, so I didn’t realise how big it was until now watching as a fan I’m like, ‘Wow, what a buzz’. You draw back on those experiences in 2019, it was a really cool experience.”
The 33-year-old from Takapuna, who became American-eligible under residency after taking up a college scholarship, has confidence that things can work out at Test level given the evolution he has seen in Major League Rugby.
Having left behind American football where his apprenticeship as a Brigham Young University Cougars running back led to contracts at the Arizona Cardinals and the Chicago Bears, he joined the Utah Warriors in 2017 when they were founded and returned last year to see the franchise transformed after he had finished up at Harlequins.
“It has changed in literally every way possible,” he beamed. “Year one, 2017, the beginning of 2018, there were only seven teams and just from logistics to the competition on the field, it was all really raw, really fresh, not very good. It was basically a start-up company. There were a lot of growing things that first year.
“I went to England for four years, played over there, and then came back in 2022 and this season was my full season, the first full season back, and everything had changed. The competition has gotten better, just the facilities, everything was much more organised, so it was actually really a pleasure to come back to.”
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Lasike has two more seasons at the Warriors and he hopes to have his post-playing future decided by the time he likely stops in 2025. “I’m trying to figure that out now. I have got two more years with Utah and that probably will be my last two years. Just the body and injuries have been another challenge for me, especially since the last couple of seasons.
“I’d like to coach in the MLR, maybe at high school first but I’d like to get to the MLR and beyond. I’m coaching a team here in Utah, the Warriors have started a new club, a little state club rugby competition, only four teams, only four weeks long and they are trying to get that off the ground, so I am coaching.
“I have got my degree in teaching, so that has always been my fallback plan but I’m not sure I even want to do that anymore. Probably the coaching gig is at the top, but I’m definitely in the phase now where I’m trying to figure out something that I like, something that I want to do, but it’s all up in the air.
“I have really enjoyed the fact that I have tried multiple sports, I gave it a go relatively late in my age. I started rugby when I was 28, almost 29, and prior to that, I was going to hang it [sport] up. It’s been really awesome to just give rugby another go in my life and travel the world.
“The takeaway has been that I’m really grateful that I have just got a shot at multiple sports trying to enjoy it while I’m doing it. There were a lot of challenges but probably the biggest was managing my family.
“I have a young family and trying to be a professional athlete, you have the travelling, you have the tours, you have the away games and things like that, those were probably the biggest challenges for me. I’m glad I am still relatively young in my family. That was the biggest challenge.
“I came over to America as an exchange student,” he added. “I was only supposed to come over for three months and play a little bit of rugby in my senior year of high school, and then a university was at one of my games and they basically recruited me. It was just the snowball effect, one thing led to another and I ended up planting roots here. It was literally just a small opportunity and I took hold of it.”
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Lasike loves how American strangers get hyped when they find out he plays rugby. “That’s funny, they always shout out ‘RUG-BEE, you guys are crazy playing that sport’, just looking as an outsider not having associated with it. That’s literally how it starts, saying we are kind of crazy playing without pads and stuff. Then there is the curiosity of it and it’s cool to be able to answer questions.”
Those questions now extend to OVAL3, who have partnered with the MLR to launch a fantasy rugby game that allows players to manage teams while collecting and trading digital player cards for merchandise, match tickets, and exclusive fan experiences.
Game ambassador Lasike explained: “Online fantasy platforms in America are big with basketball, football, and baseball. They have all these fantasy things where users can manage their own team, so they will be the manager, pick their players, and then there is a whole draft process.
“That is what OVAL3 is trying to get into with rugby, so fans can engage with players and with the sport and win prizes. It’s really cool.”
- Paul Lasike is an ambassador for OVAL3, the global fantasy rugby platform and online marketplace
Comments on RugbyPass
Big empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
34 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to comments