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1
Wasps Rugby Discussion / What could have been.
« on: March 08, 2023, 12:16:07 PM »
i do wonder what might have happened if this had been built in Sudbury and we had not embarked on the pilgrimage.
2
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Worcester Wasps?
« on: February 06, 2023, 01:18:07 PM »
Rumour on Twitter that Wasps will be playing in Worcester. Merger? Takeover?
3
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Could have been different
« on: November 11, 2022, 01:39:32 PM »
The Times reporting that Derek Richardson vetoed a possible bid that could have saved the club going into administration and the job losses.
4
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Possible futures
« on: October 18, 2022, 11:34:28 AM »
What a horrible few days, just so sad with more sadness to come as we see ‘our’ players playing for different clubs. As someone who started as a junior member at Sudbury in the amateur days this all leaves a huge hole. But as an optimist I do hope that there is a future. Safe to say the prem has gone for next season and I can’t see any surviving club playing at the CBS. I think the main hope for a professional future might be a buyer merging us with Worcester to become Worcester Wasps. Worcester’s ground plus our training facilities with merged support could see a club survive in the championship push for promotion and somewhere down the line get established back in the prem. this would all need a buyer but maybe there is one out there who couldn’t afford the CBS but could afford this. Otherwise I hope Wasps survive even as an amateur club somewhere and maybe even back near to Sudbury.
5
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Va'aiga Tuigamala RIP - once a Wasp
« on: February 24, 2022, 11:07:36 AM »
Very sad the hear of the death of Va'aiga Tuigamala ‘Inga the winger’. He only made 13 appearances for Wasps right at the beginning of the pro era but made a great impact and impression. I remember an away win against Bath (very rare in those days) where he made a significant contribution.
6
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Joe and Alfie released by Eddie
« on: February 22, 2022, 06:41:05 PM »
Looks like we will have Joe and Alfie available this weekend as they have been released by England.
7
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Keeping the core
« on: January 12, 2022, 01:21:49 PM »
With the recent transfer news I was thinking about the key moving forward is keeping a solid core of players around which a squad can be built. The core are your star players but also are the culture setters. But there are also culture setters who are not necessarily first choicers but players who do a job when picked but drive and protect the standards and culture of the squad. The Fifita news is a funny one on the one hand I don’t think he is a key player but we have seen glimpses that if he stuck around he could be a core player which is why the news is both disappointing and not devastating. So here in a very non scientific way are my core players, those we want to keep and are key right now (now being at least 2 seasons). Our future core players those who we definitely want to keep and will be core in 2-3 years (and remain core for 5-10years). Core players are the culture setters, future core are the culture inheritors and there may be another category of wider culture setters:
Core players:
Launchbury
Robson
J Willis
Shields
Future core:
Barbeary
T Willis
Stooke
Oghre
Odogwu
Umaga /Atkinson
West
Wider culture setters:
Bassett
Cruse
JTA
Gaskell
Jimmy G
Very subjective but I would be gutted to lose any of the first 2 categories and one of the reasons why our injuries have been so devastating is that it deprived us of so many of those two categories and particularly the first one. A team made up of these players would be fantastic now and into the future and give us a chance to really build. It doesn’t stop a star player coming in for two years and adding more but they aren’t essential and so not devastating if they move on.
Core players:
Launchbury
Robson
J Willis
Shields
Future core:
Barbeary
T Willis
Stooke
Oghre
Odogwu
Umaga /Atkinson
West
Wider culture setters:
Bassett
Cruse
JTA
Gaskell
Jimmy G
Very subjective but I would be gutted to lose any of the first 2 categories and one of the reasons why our injuries have been so devastating is that it deprived us of so many of those two categories and particularly the first one. A team made up of these players would be fantastic now and into the future and give us a chance to really build. It doesn’t stop a star player coming in for two years and adding more but they aren’t essential and so not devastating if they move on.
8
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Nizaam Carr back!!
« on: June 28, 2021, 09:04:28 AM »
Nemo has signed up again. Great news. https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/sport/rugby/nizaam-carr-signs-wasps-rugby-20915938
9
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Robinson replacing Gleeson
« on: June 19, 2021, 10:29:05 PM »
TRP has the headline “Ed Robinson lands job as Wasp’s new attack coach”. Gleeson to be part of the England set up which has been rumoured for a while.
10
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Gleeson
« on: May 14, 2021, 09:18:05 PM »
With Amor stepping down as England attack coach the rumour mill seems to be that Martin Gleeson will be the attack/skills coach.
11
Wasps Rugby Discussion / JdeJ goodbye
« on: May 10, 2021, 04:55:33 PM »
Juan de Jongh seems to confirm on his Twitter that he is leaving. Definite changing of the guard and happening at the club.
12
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Stooke confirmed
« on: May 10, 2021, 12:03:53 PM »
Elliott Stooke has signed. The big lump we have all been wanting. https://www.wasps.co.uk/news/wasps-sign-bath-lock-elliott-stooke/
13
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Tommy Taylor
« on: February 16, 2021, 08:22:38 PM »
Looks from Sale Twitter that Tommy Taylor is being announced as signing for Sale tomorrow.
14
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Lima interview in Telegraph
« on: January 08, 2021, 10:23:26 AM »
Lima Sopoaga interview: 'Therapy is scary, but it can also be one of the most liberating things you can do'
Lima Sopoaga chose to see a counsellor about his mental health and is now helping to inspire Wasps’ young players
By
Daniel Schofield,
DEPUTY RUGBY UNION CORRESPONDENT
8 January 2021 • 7:45am
Lima Sopoaga —
Lima Sopoaga struggles to get his head around the fact that Charlie Atkinson, his Wasps team-mate, is 19. “That means he was born in 2001,” Sopoaga said. “That’s ridiculous. It blows my mind.”
There has been a lot for Sopoaga to come to terms with since he arrived at Wasps in 2018 to great fanfare as an 18-cap All Black fly-half. Like many New Zealanders before him, Sopoaga struggled to replicate the form he displayed with a silver fern on his chest in the cut and thrust of the Premiership. With rumours swirling last year that the club wanted to offload him, he lost his place in the No 10 pecking order to Jacob Umaga, 22, and Atkinson.
This season, Sopoaga has been reborn. He has played exclusively at full-back, where he has relished the greater freedom. Last weekend, he scored 14 points, including a try, in Wasps’ resounding defeat of champions Exeter. The role does have its downsides, however. “There is a shed load of running that I don’t really enjoy,” Sopoaga said. “It is the unrewarding stuff where you are covering places in the backfield where the ball doesn’t come. I am not quite Jimmy Gopperth, but I am nearly 30 now and the body does not bounce back like it once used to.”
He has also embraced the responsibility to act as a mentor to Wasps’ young English fly-halves, passing on knowledge he was once handed down to him by Dan Carter and Aaron Cruden. “I was blessed to have some wicked mentors,” Sopoaga said. “Those guys told me, ‘One day, you will be in this position’, and they asked I do the same for a young kid coming up. They were right. I am now in this position and it would be a disservice to those who helped me on in my career if I did not pass on what I know.
“I hope one day, when my career finishes up, I flick on the TV I see a young Charlie Atkinson kicking a goal for England. Hopefully not against the All Blacks. In the next year or so, I expect Jacob to be wearing that white shirt.
“He has Samoan heritage, like me, so if I can help his career get to the next level and pull on the red rose, then that can only inspire kids like us to chase their dreams. On the pitch, I understand what Jacob needs from a full-back because I was able to play as a 10 with the best full-back in the world, Ben Smith, behind me. His eyes and his communication were phenomenal.”
Heading into Friday evening’s match against Bath, Sopoaga has no doubt that he is playing the best rugby of his time in England right now. “I am probably in the happiest place as well mentally, and I think that’s helped my game,” he said. “It is no secret I have struggled, but I have learnt a lot going through that process and fighting my way out of it.”
Sopoaga admits that he was naive when he swapped the Highlanders for Wasps. He presumed rugby was rugby wherever you played. What he had not counted upon was the culture shock of swapping continents or the sky-high expectations of being the marquee replacement for Danny Cipriani. More than anything, he was weighed down by failing to meet his own standards.
“You have someone who is as special as Danny, he’s always going to be hard to replace,” Sopoaga said. “I am never going to be that guy. That’s not who I am. Also, I was not able to build those relationships with the guys around me as quickly as I would have liked. That’s something people maybe don’t understand; that you can’t just come into a team and instantly click.
“At times, I was getting down on myself too easily and that just snowballing, at the same time as a group probably in a place where we were not high on confidence and that just filtered throughout the club.”
He credits his turnaround to the fresh energy provided by the appointment of Lee Blackett as head coach and the support of his family and Ralph Mitchell, the Wasps team doctor. Last year, he also took the decision to start seeing a counsellor about his mental health, which he said had been critical. “That’s something I did off my own back,” Sopoaga said.
“The stigma around talking and opening up as a footie player is starting to come off. Rugby players are looked at as these macho, tough dudes, but really, we are just like anyone else. That was one of the best things I have ever done. I would encourage not only rugby players, but men especially, to get out of your comfort zone. It is hard, and initially it is pretty daunting and scary, but it can also be one of the most liberating things you can do.”
In the final year of his contract, Sopoaga does not know if he will remain at the Ricoh Arena. If this is to be his final season, he is determined to play a full part in winning Wasps a trophy, having come so close in last year’s Premiership final defeat by Exeter. “I feel this group has so much to give and so much potential,” he said. “Beating Exeter last weekend was a good statement. It gives us so much confidence that we can go toe to toe with the best in Europe when we turn up ready to play. I still think I have so much more to give and the best is to come in 2021. I am still not where I want to be, but I believe I am on the right path.”
Lima Sopoaga chose to see a counsellor about his mental health and is now helping to inspire Wasps’ young players
By
Daniel Schofield,
DEPUTY RUGBY UNION CORRESPONDENT
8 January 2021 • 7:45am
Lima Sopoaga —
Lima Sopoaga struggles to get his head around the fact that Charlie Atkinson, his Wasps team-mate, is 19. “That means he was born in 2001,” Sopoaga said. “That’s ridiculous. It blows my mind.”
There has been a lot for Sopoaga to come to terms with since he arrived at Wasps in 2018 to great fanfare as an 18-cap All Black fly-half. Like many New Zealanders before him, Sopoaga struggled to replicate the form he displayed with a silver fern on his chest in the cut and thrust of the Premiership. With rumours swirling last year that the club wanted to offload him, he lost his place in the No 10 pecking order to Jacob Umaga, 22, and Atkinson.
This season, Sopoaga has been reborn. He has played exclusively at full-back, where he has relished the greater freedom. Last weekend, he scored 14 points, including a try, in Wasps’ resounding defeat of champions Exeter. The role does have its downsides, however. “There is a shed load of running that I don’t really enjoy,” Sopoaga said. “It is the unrewarding stuff where you are covering places in the backfield where the ball doesn’t come. I am not quite Jimmy Gopperth, but I am nearly 30 now and the body does not bounce back like it once used to.”
He has also embraced the responsibility to act as a mentor to Wasps’ young English fly-halves, passing on knowledge he was once handed down to him by Dan Carter and Aaron Cruden. “I was blessed to have some wicked mentors,” Sopoaga said. “Those guys told me, ‘One day, you will be in this position’, and they asked I do the same for a young kid coming up. They were right. I am now in this position and it would be a disservice to those who helped me on in my career if I did not pass on what I know.
“I hope one day, when my career finishes up, I flick on the TV I see a young Charlie Atkinson kicking a goal for England. Hopefully not against the All Blacks. In the next year or so, I expect Jacob to be wearing that white shirt.
“He has Samoan heritage, like me, so if I can help his career get to the next level and pull on the red rose, then that can only inspire kids like us to chase their dreams. On the pitch, I understand what Jacob needs from a full-back because I was able to play as a 10 with the best full-back in the world, Ben Smith, behind me. His eyes and his communication were phenomenal.”
Heading into Friday evening’s match against Bath, Sopoaga has no doubt that he is playing the best rugby of his time in England right now. “I am probably in the happiest place as well mentally, and I think that’s helped my game,” he said. “It is no secret I have struggled, but I have learnt a lot going through that process and fighting my way out of it.”
Sopoaga admits that he was naive when he swapped the Highlanders for Wasps. He presumed rugby was rugby wherever you played. What he had not counted upon was the culture shock of swapping continents or the sky-high expectations of being the marquee replacement for Danny Cipriani. More than anything, he was weighed down by failing to meet his own standards.
“You have someone who is as special as Danny, he’s always going to be hard to replace,” Sopoaga said. “I am never going to be that guy. That’s not who I am. Also, I was not able to build those relationships with the guys around me as quickly as I would have liked. That’s something people maybe don’t understand; that you can’t just come into a team and instantly click.
“At times, I was getting down on myself too easily and that just snowballing, at the same time as a group probably in a place where we were not high on confidence and that just filtered throughout the club.”
He credits his turnaround to the fresh energy provided by the appointment of Lee Blackett as head coach and the support of his family and Ralph Mitchell, the Wasps team doctor. Last year, he also took the decision to start seeing a counsellor about his mental health, which he said had been critical. “That’s something I did off my own back,” Sopoaga said.
“The stigma around talking and opening up as a footie player is starting to come off. Rugby players are looked at as these macho, tough dudes, but really, we are just like anyone else. That was one of the best things I have ever done. I would encourage not only rugby players, but men especially, to get out of your comfort zone. It is hard, and initially it is pretty daunting and scary, but it can also be one of the most liberating things you can do.”
In the final year of his contract, Sopoaga does not know if he will remain at the Ricoh Arena. If this is to be his final season, he is determined to play a full part in winning Wasps a trophy, having come so close in last year’s Premiership final defeat by Exeter. “I feel this group has so much to give and so much potential,” he said. “Beating Exeter last weekend was a good statement. It gives us so much confidence that we can go toe to toe with the best in Europe when we turn up ready to play. I still think I have so much more to give and the best is to come in 2021. I am still not where I want to be, but I believe I am on the right path.”
15
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Back row!
« on: October 10, 2020, 05:38:30 PM »
When we had our previous successful period it was built on us having one of the best back rows around. Now we are back to that point. I also think the change of emphasis at the ruck has played right into our skill set and away from big heavy back rows. I think with the change we now have the best back row around and that is one of the keys to winning games.
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