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'I know his mum is scared because he does look young'
By Liam Heagney
The England autumn Test window will draw to a close with this Sunday’s Nations Cup final versus France and with young Wasps out-half Jacob Umaga already released back to his club, Mike Umaga has revealed how Jacob’s mother is relieved he has been left waiting by Eddie Jones to earn his first cap.
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The 22-year-old emerged as a serious England prospect during Wasps’ fantastic run to the final of the 2019/20 Gallagher Premiership, a showpiece match against Exeter in which Umaga scored an excellent try at Twickenham.
However, despite being called into numerous training camps, the curtain will fall on England’s block of five autumn games without Umaga getting the chance to make his Test level debut. That, though, won’t be of major disappointment just now in the Umaga household.
Appearing on the latest RugbyPass Offload show, Mike Umaga, the brother of famed ex-All Blacks skipper Tana, admitted his son’s 91kg stature has his mother anxious about the step-up to playing out-half at Test level.
“I have got a young son, I dreamed of him wearing a black jersey. He’s possibly going to wear a white one,” said Umaga, who played a number of seasons in the Premiership with Rotherham.
6?? players released back to their Premiership clubs#AutumnNationsCup #ENGvFRA
https://t.co/07lMYSmhyU— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 2, 2020
“He’s enjoying it, he’s learning loads. I guess that is all you can want for your kids, enjoying the experience. He is around some world-class rugby players. I know his mum is scared because he does look young. I’m not sure he is totally filled out yet. I don’t know if she’d be too happy if he does get a cap… (but) he has definitely got enough speed to get himself out of trouble, something I never had.”
Umaga added that time is very much on his son’s side to eventually made the Test grade and represent England. “It’s more the learning,” he said about his son’s role in recent camps which ended on Wednesday when he returned to Wasps.
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“If you look at how Eddie has selected the squad, other than Georgia there was really no opportunity for him to play. He was in camp this week and it’s definitely about the learning because Wasps play totally different from how England play. He does say that he does spend a lot of time kicking. You certainly learn a lot about yourself.”
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Episode 9 – Game Changers
We discuss the tense Wales vs England match from the weekend. Jamie reveals just how ruthless Shaun Edwards is! We speak to Mike Umaga on his son Jacob Umaga, and @OceansApartFilm !
iTunes – https://t.co/gfWdk5Vi8h
Spotify – https://t.co/JgbHP6KDdl pic.twitter.com/LF3nsAzp3c— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 2, 2020
