With All Black first five-eighth Aaron Cruden out for the season after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament in the Chiefs' victory over the Crusaders last Saturday night, the spotlight has now switched on to who can come in to fill the breach.
The All Blacks appear to be well catered for in the No 10 jersey, having Beauden Barrett, Dan Carter and Colin Slade in line to be the three playmakers for the World Cup in England and Wales later this year.
But Sopoaga may be in the mix.
And with the poor injury record of some of the three key men - Carter, in particular - the back-up to the critical first five-eighth position has to be solid and deep.
All Black selector Grant Fox said yesterday he had been impressed by the performance of Sopoaga in recent weeks.
''We'll wait and see what happens, but there's another guy who's playing well in Lima Sopoaga,'' Fox said yesterday on Newstalk ZB.
''He's quite possibly, right at this point in time, the form five-eighth of our teams in the competition.''
Fox was at last Saturday night's game at Forsyth Barr Stadium where Sopoaga helped unlock the Blues defence and, more importantly, did not miss a kick at goal.
He has missed just one kick at goal in his past 15 attempts over three games, all won by the Highlanders.
The Wellington-born pivot has come a long way since he first arrived in the South.
He was injured for much of the first three seasons but had a break-out season last year, setting a record for most points in the season for a Highlanders player as he clocked up a goal-kicking record of more than 80%.
Earlier this month, Sopoaga told the Otago Daily Times the goal had always been to wear the black jersey but any talk of national selection was out of his hands.
He just had to play as well as he could and it was up to others to see if he was selected, he said.
Sopoaga is of Samoan heritage although he was born in New Zealand.
He has been sounded out by Samoan rugby authorities about playing for that side but wants to play for the nation of his birth.
Although realistically Sopoaga would be fourth choice for the first five-eighth jersey, it was only four years ago the fourth choice first five-eighth won the World Cup final for the All Blacks.
Stephen Donald was called up from a whitebaiting spot to help kick the winning penalty for the All Blacks against France in 2011.
Carter especially has big questions as to whether his body can stand up to a long World Cup campaign and has also showed some rusty form over the past few weeks.
Fox said yesterday the key to unlocking Carter's form was consistent game time to build his confidence.
Carter has played much of his rugby this year in the second five-eighth position after a leg injury gave him a delayed start to the season.
