Lima Sopoaga: former All Black on winning the Ranfurly Shield back for Waikato

Waikato snatched the Ranfurly Shield from Taranaki with a thrilling 23-22 victory in their NPC game in New Plymouth.

Former All Black Lima Sopoaga kicked a last minute penalty to steal the one-point win for the Mooloos.

Sopoaga joined Piney to discuss the win.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalks EDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
The Log of Wood is back in White Cuttle's hands
for the first time since twenty eighteen. Beck it comes,
It comes, favoring.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
He keeps him at a touch maybe says it's all over.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Why hello, have one the red fairly Chilled twenty three,
twenty two and a heart stopper, heart stopper. All right,
White Kato fans happy to hear from you. Actually, oh
eight one hundred and eighty ten eighty luxuriating this. What's
it like to have the log back in your possession?
After the game yesterday, I had the chat sketch up

(00:45):
with Limasapawanga asking him how good that was.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
Yeah, it's amazing to be honest, you know, come up
here and play for where my wife's from and represent
where she's from and her family, and you know, this
is where our kids are going to live, and just
to get amongst the region and you know, I know
there's a lot of proud people in the Couple region
and Soshre suburbs, and you know, hopefully we're able to

(01:10):
put us a few smiles on people's faces tonight and
this afternoon and we get to see their short home
back to the White couple and yes, it's amazing. It
really is cool, and I'm just so happy, just not
only for myself at the group and there's a lot
of good people here work in the union and they
work hard, and just it's so good to be able
to give back to everybody who's putting work behind the scenes.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
What are you and Aaron Cruden looking to bring to
this White couple side as real veterans of rugby?

Speaker 3 (01:42):
Yeah, I guess for us, but there's always pressure, but
it probably doesn't fluster us as much anymore. You know,
we're both fathers now, we have other commitments and rugby's
just a small part of our lives. It's what we
do and it's not who we are. And I guess
for us, try to get these young boys who look

(02:02):
at rugby as a bill and then or and sometimes
that pressure can get to them, and just to realize
it really is just a game at the end of
the day, and to really enjoy it, because these moments
come a few and far between, you know, Like I've
been able to play rugby for sixteen years as a
pro and this is my second challenge at it, and
so to get it this time around on the second

(02:24):
on the second go is pretty amazing. And you know,
I'm really going to savor this moment and enjoy.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
It my bit. So the young guys and the team,
I mean, they're you know, they're just full noise, aren't they.
Where do these young guys get their energy from?

Speaker 3 (02:37):
Oh my, I wish I had the energy. I've only
got a certain amount of dancing to think most games.
But you know, like I know how to get to
the spot quickly and can read the play and understand
where the ball is going to go. So I think
that just comes with experience. But yeah, they they really
do give us a bit of life, and they they

(02:58):
challenge us to keep being better as older players and
to not slack off and rest on the laurels, and
and they really challenge us. So to me, like every
day I'm coming and knowing that I've got to get further,
get fast, to get stronger, and just to keep up
and go ahead of the game.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
So you've been around for a long time, Lima, So
this is the first time you ever had the ring
Philly Shield.

Speaker 3 (03:21):
Yeah, you know, you've got to get lucky to even
get a challenge, you know, like I know some players
who has never got a challenge, you know, like the
great Tony Brown, who's one of my favorite coaches. He
never had a challenge of a player. You know, Like
that's those kind of You've got to get pretty lucky
to even you know, get a cracketter. And if you
get a crack at it, so the kitchen think it

(03:42):
and hopefully you can come worth the chocolates. And today
we did.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
And you were behind for much of the second half,
behind for much of the second half, did you always
feel as though you were still in the game.

Speaker 3 (03:54):
Yeah, I think the way we've been playing, we've just
been hanging in games, hanging in games and knowing that
we've got the we've got the athletes to do it,
we've got the game plan to do it. We just
have to trust in each other and back each other,
and when when the moments come to strike or to score,
we've got to nail them. And I think today we
stayed and stayed in the fight. And you know, it

(04:17):
took an eighty minute penalty to get over the line
by one. And yeah, this team's pretty special. There's some
guested athletes here and makes a bit of experience with
me and Tucker and Crubs, and you know, hopefully there's
some magic to help them come the back back into
the season.

Speaker 2 (04:36):
That is Limasopolonga, who I caught up with after the
game yesterday.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
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