Why Sopoaga’s overseas move makes sense
Lima Sopoaga’s reported lucrative British move should come as no surprise.
In the rapid-fire production line that is New Zealand rugby talent, his expiry date seemed to be fastforwarded and another World Cup disappointment loomed.
Better to cash in now, especially with a young family.
He’s achieved his aim of being an All Black – and a pretty damn solid one too.
But that, apparently, isn’t enough these days.
Not even a spectacular debut against the Springboks in Johannesburg – perhaps one of the most assured first-up test performances in recent memory – could earn him a place at the last World Cup.
And with young Richie Mounga’s similarly impressive All Blacks debut, albeit against a lesser British Barbarians outfit, the writing was on the wall that Sopoaga might slip further down the pecking order as the plans for a hat-trick of World Cups are laid down.
All Blacks fans used to worry about the depth at No 10 when Dan Carter had such a mortgage on the crucial position.
That’s no longer the case. It’s a position of real strength in the current New Zealand scene and Sopoaga will have factored that in as he agonised over this decision.
When you have a double world player of the year in Beauden Barrett at the head of the queue and already high up the All Blacks’ leadership group, lengthy game time looks as unlikely as it did for those who operated in Carter’s shadow.
The traffic congestion needed to be factored in also.
With Barrett entrenched as the top playmaker, versatility is now a key element for a squad or test-day makeup and Damien McKenzie seems to be a key element in that thinking with attempts to have him evolve his first-five game to supplement his electrifying play at fullback.
It will be interesting to see who the All Blacks put their faith in between McKenzie and Mo’unga as Barrett’s backup from here.
The biggest losers out of this look to be the Highlanders, where Sopoaga has been such an influential figure in their resurgence over recent seasons.
At just 26 Sopoaga is being lost young. But that’s almost the norm now as wealthy overseas clubs target top talent with a better shelf life than the usual veterans who are looking for a pay cheque in their twilight years.
Charles Piutau, John Afoa, Steven Luatua and Frank Halai are notable examples of All Blacks who have departed prematurely in recent times.
Sopoaga will be paid handsomely for his bold and unexpected move – perhaps more than $1m a season – and so he should be because of his age and ability.
He’s cashing in now, rather than being just another option at the end of the current World Cup cycle.
All Blacks are always prime targets but the famous Wasps club are getting a player pretty much in his prime. That stings just a little bit more.