Wasps fans can expect something..
FLY-HALF Lima Sopoaga produced a superb performance for the Highlanders to defeat the Crusaders at the weekend. His try and ten points with the boot proved to be key contributions in a 25-17 success over the reigning Super Rugby champions from Canterbury.
Sopoaga’s sublime showing came at a timely point after we spoke with
senior sports writer Hamish Bidwell about what Wasps fans can expect from the 16-time capped All Black. The Wellingtonbased rugby expert spoke with our rugby reporter Absolutely. He plays with Aaron Smith at the Highlanders, whose quick ball and turn of foot are the catalyst for much of the team’s attack.
No, as I say, very measured guy and accurate player. Not going to panic or do anything daft or spend weeks out with calves or hamstrings that he hasn’t been looking after properly.
Pretty relaxed. There’s Barrett, Damian McKenzie and Richie Mo’unga floating about, plus an odd game Sopoaga played in Brisbane last year.
It does need to be pointed out that the All Blacks were running on fumes that night, so he wasn’t given the greatest support ever. But Sopoaga was strangely inaccurate and Australia got up for a rare win.
Plenty of people wanted him to start and believed he had a better allround game than Barrett, but that performance killed that talk stone dead. Mo’unga became the answer to the Barrett-sceptics at that point.
Just on that, Barrett’s twice been world player of the year now and proves himself time and again against elite opposition and yet people still waffle on about guys in provincial rugby who could do better.
Of course. He stays fit, he has a multi-faceted game and he doesn’t make errors. Wasps are getting a winner whose body isn’t beaten up and who hasn’t gone north as part of an early retirement. Accurate, dependable, clever.