LILLE, France (Reuters) – Samoa flyhalf Lima Sopoaga never did get back the kicking tee he lost in Bordeaux last month but he will face England on Saturday with a bit of restored confidence after being sent a “lookalike” used tee by a coach in England.
Sopoaga had owned the original tee from the age of 14 but in the chaos after the victory over Chile he left it on the pitch and, despite a social media appeal, it was not returned.
“I’ve been sent one that is similar from a kicking coach in England, his name is Alex Davies,” Sopoaga said on Thursday.
“He sent me an old one so it’s kind of the same feel. I’ve taped it up and pretended it is the same one so hopefully I’m not shanking them on the weekend. If I am, then I am going to blame the tools.”
The 32-year-old former All Black said the original tee had travelled the world with him and was “an extension of myself”.
“It’s the first thing I pack before I pack my boots. I’d rather forget my boots than my kicking tee,” Sopoaga said.
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Ed Osmond)
