The 38-year-old Wasps fly-half played with Tana Umaga, and now lines up with Umaga’s nephew Jacob, but he is in no rush to retire
As Jimmy Gopperth prepares to begin his seventh season with Wasps on Saturday, just a few months after his 38th birthday, and as someone who has enjoyed successful spells in the Premiership, the Celtic League and Super Rugby, he is better placed than most to pass judgment on rugby’s evolution. “I think we’re the only professional sport that changes its rules every single year,” he says. “It’s forever changing.”
Perhaps the secret to his longevity, then, is that Gopperth has learned not to sweat the small stuff. Amid all the law tweaks, the shifts through the
World Cup cycles in favour of attacks, then defences, for Gopperth it remains a simple game. “I don’t know if they’re getting lost with what they’re trying to achieve with it, but at the end of the day you’re still trying to score tries, you’re still trying to get more points than the other team and win the game.”