Lima Sopoaga (born 3 February 1991) is a professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who plays for

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

in the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

competition. His regular playing positions are Fly-Half and Centre.

Early life

Sopoaga was born in Wellington, New Zealand. His family comes from Samoa and the Cook Islands. Sopoaga is the oldest among six siblings. His younger brother, Tupou Sopoaga, played for the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith ...

in the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

but switched codes and played alongside Lima at the Highlanders for a time. In his high school days, Lima Sopoaga attended

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New Z ...

and won four local championships with the 1st XV. He captained the school's side in 2009 and was selected for the NZ Secondary Schools team.

Club career

Provincial Rugby

Wellington Lions

At the age of 19, Sopoaga played for

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

in the 2010 ITM Cup, making his debut against Manawatu.Lima Sopoaga
. thehighlanders.co.nz His strong performances established himself as the squad's starting number 10. He finished the season with 88 points in 9 appearances to help Wellington to reach the final of the competition, where he scored 21 points despite losing to

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

Southland Stags

In late May 2014, Sopoaga announced that he will be joining the

Southland Stags Rugby Southland (formerly the Southland Rugby Football Union) is the provincial rugby union who govern the Southland region of New Zealand. Their headquarters are at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill, which is also the home ground of the unio ...

for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. The transfer from the

Wellington Lions The Wellington Rugby Football Union (known as the Wellington Lions for competition reasons) are a New Zealand governing body of rugby union in the New Zealand province of Wellington Region. The main stadium is Sky Stadium (formerly named West ...

to the Stags keeps Sopoaga in Highlanders territory. Playing for Southland, Lima joins another current Highlander in

Elliot Dixon Elliot Christopher Dixon (born 4 September 1989) is a professional rugby union player. He represents the Highlanders (rugby), Highlanders in the Super Rugby competition and Southland Rugby Football Union, Southland in the ITM Cup, playing at Rug ...

. Sopoaga, excited by the move as reported by Rugby Southland; "The opportunity came up and it is a good fit to stay in the Highlander franchise and represent the region in the Super 15 and ITM Cup. I’m really starting to feel at home in the south now and proud to be part of the region. The Stags boys in the Highlanders have nothing but good things to say about the Stags and the Southland province and I’m looking forward to getting to Southland and giving my all for my new team."

Super Rugby

Sopoaga followed his former Wellington coach

Jamie Joseph James Whitinui Joseph (born 21 November 1969) is a New Zealand-born Japanese former rugby union player and current rugby union coach. A flanker, Joseph represented Otago at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, ...

south, signing on with the Highlanders for the

2011 Super Rugby season The 2011 Super Rugby season was the first season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involved teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Including its past iterations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 16t ...

. Expected to back up

Colin Slade Colin Richard Slade (born 10 October 1987) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player. He played primarily at first five-eighth, as well as all other backline positions on occasions. He was first selected for the All Blacks in 200 ...

, he ended up starting the opening game of the season against the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

due to Slade being injured. He responded in fine fashion by scoring a try and kicking two penalties in a 14–9 victory. However, in his second start of the season he suffered a shoulder injury which ruled him out of the team until the late stages of the season. In 2015 he helped guide the Highlanders to their first super rugby title by defeating the 1st place Hurricanes 21–14. Sopoaga scored the most points of any Super Rugby player in 2015, scoring 191 points that season. The Highlanders failed to make the finals in 2016, losing 42–30 against the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

in the semi-final. Sopoaga was one of the few Highlanders to shine in the 2016 semi-final, scoring a try and kicking accurately, ending his

2016 Super Rugby season The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Ar ...

with 186 points. Sopoaga was pulled from the field in a 16–12 win over the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

on 11 March 2017 after suffering a hamstring injury when he performed a try-saving tackle on All Blacks team-mate and Blues midfielder

George Moala George Moala (born 5 November 1990), is a professional rugby union player currently playing for Clermont Auvergne in the French Top 14, having previously played in New Zealand for both Auckland and the Blues. Early career Moala attended Tamaki ...

. Sopoaga made his return from injury to replace

Marty Banks Martin Banks (born 19 September 1989) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for in the Bunnings NPC and the in Super Rugby. His position is First five-eighth and occasionally Fullback. Career Banks was playing for the Takapuna Rug ...

off the bench in a 55–6 win over the

Western Force The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competition in 2017. ...

on 20 May 2017. The departing Banks scored more points in the

2017 Super Rugby season The 2017 Super Rugby season was the 22nd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It was the second season featuring an expand ...

than Sopoaga due to Sopoaga spending two months out injured. Sopoaga scored 54 points in the 2017 season, failing to score any in the quarter-final against the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

where the Highlanders lost 17–0. Sopoaga started for the Highlanders against the touring

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

side on 13 June 2017, contributing eight points to the Highlanders' narrow 23–22 win over the Lions before being replaced by Banks in the 54th minute.

Wasps

On 15 January 2018, Sopoaga confirmed to be leaving the Highlanders and New Zealand to join top English side

Wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. T ...

in the Gallagher Premiership from the 2018–19 season. Sopoaga made his Wasps debut on 8 September 2018 in a 31–42 defeat to

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...

, he came on as a substitute in the second half and scored a conversion from a try scored by

Dan Robson Dan Robson (born 14 March 1992) is an English professional rugby union player for Pau in the French Top 14. Personal life Born in Stoke-on-Trent, Robson attended Newcastle-under-Lyme School. His father was also a rugby player for Moseley a ...

. He made his full starting debut the following game week, on 16 September, scoring 18 points (three conversions and four penalties) in a high scoring, 41–35 win over the

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

Lyon

On 13 April 2021, Sopoaga would leave Wasps as he will travel to France to join

outfit

from the 2021-22 season.

International career

After an injury to Chiefs captain

Aaron Cruden Aaron Wiremu Cruden (born 8 January 1989) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who plays for Chiefs and formerly Montpellier, Manawatu and New Zealand internationally. Cruden's usual position is first five-eighth (fly half). Early life Crud ...

, Sopoaga's Super Rugby efforts in 2015 saw him gaining selection for New Zealand. Sopoaga was named in the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

' 41-man squad for the

2015 Rugby Championship The 2015 Rugby Championship was the fourth edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere Rugby Championship consisting of Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The 2015 Championship was a shorter competition than normal, with ...

, making his international debut against South Africa in Johannesburg on 25 July 2015, debuting alongside lock James Broadhurst. Sopoaga started the match and was not subbed off, with replacement

Beauden Barrett Beauden John Barrett (born 27 May 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays as a Fly-half (rugby union), First five-eighth (fly-half) and Fullback (rugby union), fullback for Taranaki Rugby Football Union, Taranaki in the Mitre 10 Cu ...

replacing

Israel Dagg Israel Jamahl Akuhata Dagg (born 6 June 1988) is a former New Zealand rugby union player who played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby. He has also played for the New Zealand Sevens team, and represents Hawkes Bay in the ITM Cup. Dagg played in ...

off the bench instead of Sopoaga who scored 12 points on debut, guiding the All Blacks to a 27–20 win. Sopoaga narrowly missed out on selection for the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...

, with selectors preferring 100-plus test veteran

Dan Carter Daniel William Carter (born 5 March 1982) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. Carter played for Crusaders (Super Rugby) in New Zealand and played for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks. He is the highest point scorer in ...

and the versatility of

and Barrett. Sopoaga was re-selected for the All Blacks in the Steinlager series against Wales in 2016. After Cruden was injured again, Sopoaga made his second test appearance in the third test against Wales on 25 June 2016 which was a 46–6 win at Sopoaga'a home crowd in Dunedin. Sopoaga replaced

Ryan Crotty Ryan Stevenson Crotty (born 23 September 1988) is a New Zealand-born rugby union footballer. He currently plays as a midfield back for the Kubota Spears in the Japanese Top League. Crotty played 48 tests for New Zealand's international team, t ...

off the bench in the 55th minute, covering inside centre for the rest of the test. Sopoaga made four more appearances in the black jersey in 2016, scoring 10 points that year. Following the departure of Aaron Cruden to France and the inexperienced

Damian McKenzie Damian Sinclair McKenzie (born 20 April 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays fullback or First five-eighth for Waikato in the Bunnings NPC competition and Chiefs in super rugby . McKenzie has played 40 tests for New Zealand since ...

being used at fullback, Sopoaga carried a far heavier workload for the All Blacks in the 2017 season. Sopoaga replaced Beauden Barrett in the 59th minute of a 78–0 win over Samoa, converting two tries. Sopoaga also went across for what would have been his first try that match, but it was disallowed after he received a forward pass from replacement scrum-half TJ Perenara. Following the win over Samoa, Sopoaga made another 11 appearances for the All Blacks that year. Sopoaga scored his first test try on 16 September 2017 in a 57-0 demolishing of South Africa after replacing man-of-the match

Nehe Milner-Skudder Nehe Rihara Milner-Skudder (born 15 December 1990) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays for the Rugby New York. He was selected for the All Blacks in 2015, and was a key member of 2015 Rugby World Cup winning team. He scored ...

in the 53rd minute. Concussion to Barrett saw Sopoaga step up in the second test against South Africa in 2017, replacing Barrett only 33 minutes into the game. Sopoaga scored 7 points that day, converting tries by McKenzie and winger

Rieko Ioane Rieko Edward Ioane (; born 18 March 1997) is a New Zealand professional rugby union footballer who plays as a wing or as a centre for New Zealand team Blues in Super Rugby and the New Zealand national team. In his youth career, he was select ...

. Sopoaga also attempted a drop goal in the 76th minute but missed. Springbok replacement back

Damian de Allende Damian de Allende (born 25 November 1991) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South Africa national team and Japanese club Saitama Wild Knights. His usual position is either centre or wing. He was a m ...

attempted to charge down the kick but was controversially red-carded for a late hit on Sopoaga. The Springboks were further punished by De Allende's mistake because of Sopoaga turning the penalty given into 3 points, the deciding factor in the All Blacks' 25–24 win that day. Barrett's continued concussion symptoms saw Sopoaga named to start for only the second time in his international career, starting against the Wallabies for 2017's third Bledisloe Cup test on 22 October 2017. An attempted pass from Sopoaga to midfielder

Sonny Bill Williams Sonny Bill Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand heavyweight boxer, and a former professional rugby league and rugby union player and as of recently is working for Stan Sports. He is only the List of dual-code rugby internationals#New ...

went wrong in the 6th minute of the test, with Wallabies winger

Reece Hodge Reece Hodge (born 26 August 1994) is an Australian professional rugby union player for the Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby. A utility back, Hodge can play fly-half, outside centre, wing or fullback. Hodge completed his secondary Education at Man ...

intercepting to score a try. Sopoaga recovered well to score 8 points but was subbed off in the 60th minute for

David Havili David Kaetau Havili (born 23 December 1994) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a fullback, centre or first five-eighth for in the Bunnings NPC and the in the Super Rugby competition. Early career Havili is of Pāk ...

, with McKenzie moving into first-five. The Wallabies went on to win 23–18. Sopoaga made an appearance in every All Blacks fixture on the 2017 end-of-season tour, replacing Havili and McKenzie against the Barbarians and France. Sopoaga earned a mid-week start against a French XV on 14 November 2017 where Sopoaga did not miss a kick at goal. He was replaced by debutant

Richie Mo'unga Richard Fou'a Mo'unga (born 25 May 1994) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a first five-eighth for in the Bunnings NPC, the in Super Rugby, and the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. Early life Mo'unga was bo ...

in the 53rd minute. Sopoaga followed up the performance against the French XV by replacing

Waisake Naholo Waisake Ratunideuba Naholo (born 8 May 1991 Sigatoka, Fiji) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He previously played for the All Blacks Sevens and on the wing (and occasionally centre) position for London Irish. In May 2022 he signed with Rugby ...

off the bench against Scotland and Wales. Sopoaga's signing announced with the Wasps will likely mean his appearance off the bench against Wales on 25 November 2017 will be his last test for New Zealand.

Personal life

Sopoaga missed the second test against Argentina in 2017 due to the birth of his first child, a daughter named Milla.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sopoaga, Lima 1991 births New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand people of Cook Island descent New Zealand people of Samoan descent Highlanders (rugby union) players Wellington rugby union players Rugby union fly-halves Living people Rugby union players from Wellington City Southland rugby union players Barbarian F.C. players New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate rugby union players in France New Zealand expatriate rugby union players Lyon OU players Wasps RFC players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate rugby union players in England