Lima - Looks like we have him for another year

[baldpaul101]

I know some people see England training in a negative light on here but Blackett called out Jacobs time with the England squad as major boost to his confidence & the way he was playing.

[Raggs]

I know some people see England training in a negative light on here but Blackett called out Jacobs time with the England squad as major boost to his confidence & the way he was playing.

Kicking game at international is huge, and it was clear when he came back that he looked to kick a lot more.

In my mind we still need to kick slightly more in our own third, but not much, I like that we attempt to play, but as soon as we lose that front foot ball we need to go back to the kick.

[andermt]

I don't think his experience and how he works with Jabob should be underestimated in how well Jacob has come on this year. Jacob has been learning his trade from a former All Black, and that, coupled with how well Fekitoa is playing compared to his time at Toulon, shows that Sopoaga's influence isn't just what he does in the 80mins.
Some of his play in recent weeks has been at the level we have been hoping he would play at and I for one am glad he seems to have found his place in the team and is enjoying Rugby at Wasps as that can only be good for the team.

(my emphasis)

Isn't that why you bring in these stars and pay them big bucks, not just for their on-field play but also to help with development of young players? The foreign stars are there for 2-3 years, your home-grown talent should be there for 10+ years if you look after them.

Fully agree, however many people have been quick to condemn him since he arrived based purely on the 80mins....

[BdeB]

Definitely. I think we can clearly see Cips' influence on Umaga, as well as George Smith's influence on Willis.
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I know we all love Cips but how much direct influence would he really have had over Jacob? have I missed an interview or something where Jacob says Cips was a big influence because otherwise I can't see a direct influence as for the 2 seasons Cips was with Wasps Jacob was out on loan wasn't he. If we are speculating then I would give Lima more credit than Cips. Lima seems to have a great and giving relationship with Billy Searle and so there is no reason to think it is not the same with Jacob.

[Raggs]

Definitely. I think we can clearly see Cips' influence on Umaga, as well as George Smith's influence on Willis.

I know we all love Cips but how much direct influence would he really have had over Jacob? have I missed an interview or something where Jacob says Cips was a big influence because otherwise I can't see a direct influence as for the 2 seasons Cips was with Wasps Jacob was out on loan wasn't he. If we are speculating then I would give Lima more credit than Cips. Lima seems to have a great and giving relationship with Billy Searle and so there is no reason to think it is not the same with Jacob.
[/quote]

I'm fairly sure that Umaga was with us at least at first when he joined, and only joined Carnegie after Cips had left.

In 16/17 and 17/18, I'm pretty sure he was with us, as an academy boy. And we've found out that the academy train at least once a week with the seniors. In addition, there's pretty much always been stories etc of Cips doing extra training with other players.

Not an exact match, but when Umaga and Eastgate were interviewed, Eastgate talked about how great Cips and Gopps were and how they were always willing to help: https://www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/future-wasps-aiming-to-shine-at-all-levels/16971.htm

The way Umaga has been playing is also very reminiscent of Cips, similar passing styles, deception etc. The kicking game has clearly come on from other influences (and England training), but his ball handling and picking runners looks very heavily influenced by Cips (and why not! Cips is a master at it).