Rugby: Former All Blacks first-five Lima Sopoaga denies rumours he is leaving Wasps

Name: ANZ Sports Scene: Heroics and Heartbreak - Twelve months with the All Blacks
Uploaded: 2019-12-04T11:08:58+13:00
Duration: 261 s
Description: Rugby author Jamie Wall shares his thoughts on the past twelve months he spent following the All Blacks around the globe.

NZ Herald

4 Dec, 2019 01:00 AM3 mins to read

Rugby author Jamie Wall shares his thoughts on the past twelve months he spent following the All Blacks around the globe.

Former All Black Lima Sopoaga has hit out at 'rumours' that he is leaving the Wasps after this season.

The 28-year-old first-five has struggled since his move to the English club last year and has recently lost his starting spot in the team to Jacob Umaga, the nephew of All Black great Tana who is highly rated up north.

A report from The Rugby Paper in the UK emerged over the weekend that Sopoaga's contract with the Wasps won't be extended beyond this current season, suggesting that the former Highlander's option for a third season with the Wasps "is unlikely to be triggered".

However, Sopoaga has taken to social media to shut down those claims, saying he's "not going anywhere".

"If everything rumoured about me were true, I'd be in five different places in the world at once, 7 foot tall and playing for the Lakers… ok the last two aren't rumours, just my dreams," Sopoaga wrote on Twitter.

"I'm not going anywhere. If you wanna find me, I'll be chasing my 2 year old on her scooter around Leamington."

Despite a rough start to his time in the UK, Sopoaga believes he is finally starting to adjust to life in England after struggling with injuries in his first season.

"It was just coming into this year knowing I didn't achieve the things I wanted to achieve," Sopoaga told CoventryLive in September. "Reflecting on maybe my mindset, asking myself why I didn't achieve those things.

"It came back to that and I boiled it down to, just worrying. Worrying too much about this and that. A whole bunch of other stuff.

"Just having fun and putting a smile on my face, at the end of the day it is just a game and is something I've always enjoyed doing."

Wasps director of rugby Dai Young refused to comment on player movements, saying the talks about Sopoaga only started after he was dropped from the starting side.

"People who know the circumstances and watched us play, Jacob [Umaga] was man of the match the week before, it would've been a ridiculous decision, really, when a kid has done that well, to take him out," Young told CoventryLive.

"Lima has started every other Premiership game."