Vincent Koch opens up on Wasps redundancy and his switch to France
After the financial meltdown of Wasps, most of the players at the club have managed to rebound and find new homes, some even shining in the Top 14 a few days later. Life might be different than in Coventry as they settle into their new surroundings, but players like Springboks tighthead Vincent Koch and Burger Odendaal, his fellow South African, are finding their feet again after a difficult time.
Koch ran out for South Africa against Italy in Genoa on November 19. The next day he was on a plane back to his homeland to finalise his visa for France having bagged a contract with Stade Francais. No time was lost as the prop touched down in Paris to make his Top 14 debut three days later in a narrow defeat by Toulon.
It was a true baptism of fire for the South African after just a handful of training sessions and being unable to converse in the language of Moliere. “I could just say ‘hello’ pretty much,” Koch admitted to AFP.
“Everything came so quick,” he added about the way Wasps were put into administration in mid-October. “When you start playing professional rugby, you never think that is something that could ever happen to you.”
After six seasons at Saracens, the 32-year-old front-row was laid off by Wasps without having even played a single game in the colours of his new club. “It put a lot of pressure on myself, on my family,” continued Koch. “I had two weeks to try to sort things out before I joined up with the Springboks.
10-and-half weeks after the collapsed Wasps last played in the Premiership, @heagneyl ??? investigated what had since happened to the 23 players who lost to Northampton on October 9 at the CBS Arena. #GallagherPrem #ICYMIhttps://t.co/rzlqk8fKrv
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 29, 2022
“In that two weeks, I had to look for a new contract, try to figure out what the future held for me and then as well move everything from my house because I couldn’t stay there. I had to get someone to move my house, stop all my debit orders, TV, the wifi. Trying to get out of my housing lease as well.”
Jack Willis had spent his entire professional career at Wasps until the call came on October 17 for a meeting at the training ground. “We were just expecting to be told that we were going into administration,” said Willis. “We weren’t expecting to be told that we were all losing our jobs.
“When we were told we were made redundant, the room just went into complete silence and everyone was shocked. There were quite a few tears from everyone afterwards, it was a very emotional day.”
The England flanker has also landed in the French elite, at Toulouse, not so far from his younger brother Tom, who is turning out in the back row for Top 14 rivals Bordeaux until the end of the season when he heads home to Saracens in a bid to play for England.
Among ten Wasps players to have crossed the Channel, with others having joined Super Rugby and United Rugby Championship clubs, are scrum-half Dan Robson (Pau), prop Biyi Alo (Racing 92) and flanker Brad Shields (Perpignan).
“There are a lot of us who have found stuff now, which is brilliant, but there are also a lot of guys who haven’t found jobs,” Willis continued. “It’s been a bit of a roller-coaster couple of months.” Turning to Toulouse, he added: “It does feel a bit crazy, but it is also really exciting.
“If I had stayed locally to another (English) team that was close it would have felt really weird day to day. Whereas this is such a big change that it just feels like an exciting adventure.”
Springboks prop Koch also opted to highlight the positive over the negative from a situation out of the players’ control, calling it an “unbelievable journey” for him, his partner and their young child. “It’s definitely better than Coventry so we will definitely make good memories here,” Koch said of his new life in the French capital.
"We were going into administration but we were going to come straight back out of it, that was my understanding"@john_ryan_88 went from Wasps' collapse to an anarchic @Barbarian_FC environment and a Munster return, writes @heagneyl ??? #BARvNZL #ICYMIhttps://t.co/Mto0cMxXSX
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 29, 2022
“Some day in life, you get to sit down and reflect on what happened. We can actually tick a box and say, listen, we had an unbelievable time in Paris, in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I always make a joke saying there is worst places to be in the world than Paris.”
Koch, who was part of the Springboks squad that won the 2019 Rugby World Cup, touched down in the French capital with a former Wasps teammate in Paolo Odogwu. “We knew they were coming out of a tricky period, but they were happy to bounce back with us. They have really integrated very well,” said Stade coach Gonzalo Quesada.
Odogwu also has an English compatriot in the Stade squad in the shape of the outside back, Harry Glover. “They are both single and living in a flat in (the chic central Parisian area of) Saint-Germain. So we will be keeping an eye on them!”
Comments on RugbyPass
The value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
3 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
10 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
39 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
10 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
39 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
3 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
39 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
51 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
39 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
39 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
39 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
39 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to comments