The Interview: Jacob Umaga on a 'slow life' in Treviso
The former Wasps and current Benetton fly-half on life in Italy, struggling to adapt, and three euro Aperol spritz.
Jacob Umaga is clearly missing the famous English punctuality that Treviso must sorely lack. “No one’s bothered about being on time I’ve noticed,” he says with a widening smile. “They say they're going to collect something at 10, they turn up at 11. It’s just what it is.”
It’s 3pm in Treviso when we talk over FaceTime and Umaga is sitting comfortably on a black macramé-style hammock chair in the corner of his apartment. The sun is beaming one side of his face and it’s easy to imagine yourself in his shoes.
The 25-year-old is approaching two years spent in this part of the Veneto region in Italy, where life is leisurely and unhurried - adjectives in stark contrast to existence in his native England.
“The siesta period during the day is very different. From one to three, no one does anything. We finish training around one o’clock so if you want to get something sorted you have to wait another couple of hours.1
“But life is slow here, and it’s nice because when the sun's out and you’re sitting out with your partner or with some friends in the garden, or you’re in town and having an Aperol spritz that’s three euros, you can’t complain.”
To rugby fans, Benetton Treviso is a well-known name. The steadily growing and improving outfit houses the bulk of a promising Italian national side and is beginning to complement that core with some impressive overseas talents, Umaga being one of them.
But outside of the incredibly niche world of rugby union Treviso is an underrated gem in Venetia, often overshadowed by Venice and its iconic status. But its scenic canals and waterways offer a quiet alternative to its illustrious sibling, a palate cleanser to its southern sister’s overwhelming and exhausting nature.
This is the birthplace of prosecco also, which flows into patrons’ glasses while the Sile River flows southwards to Venice.
The Piazza dei Signori where Umaga will enjoy his remarkably affordable drinks sits a few minutes away from the famously sophisticated Le Beccherie restaurant, where it is thought that Tiramisu originated from in 1969, supposedly conjured by the owner’s wife when she craved a simple pick-me-up. It is a nice slice of life here and naturally, the question of whether he’s acclimated fully is posed.
“No, not really,” he says after a brief pause to think. “I’m still struggling with the language. Still find the language barrier quite difficult at times.
“But you make do with what’s around you, we have a lot of people that help us out and if we didn’t have them, we would have been in a real bother.
“We’ve got a lot of lads who can speak English and Italian and they help us. That made it so much easier because at the start it was tough.”
I almost catch him out when I ask if he’s starting to lean towards supporting his Italian teammates in the Six Nations. He responds with a laugh and an innocent smile, presumably to give him a couple of extra seconds to form his answer. “I’m not gonna comment on that,” he says with a chuckle.
The “we” he mentions numerously are of course the number of non-Italian players that Benetton have picked up in the past two years. Former Premiership talents such as Andy Uren, Malakai Fekitoa, Marcus Watson, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, and Paolo Odogwu all joined with or shortly after Umaga arrived in Treviso.
“I know the admin was a lot busier when we turned up because we were like ‘How do we do this? How do we do that? How do I sort this out? Can you sort me a house?’
“I think there’s always been a bit of a history of foreigners coming to Benetton. I think there’s just been more in the last couple of seasons than ever.”
The latter of those aforementioned names in that list - Odogwu - is someone whom Umaga seems particularly close with. From their time at Wasps together to founding their streetwear label Composure Club, to now playing alongside one another at Benetton. I pose that their relationship from the outside looking in has all the attributes of a bromance, to which he unveils that laugh and wide grin once again.
“It was different at the start, I got used to him not being here and then when he came here it was nice because I had someone else to bounce things off and another person to talk to about things.
“But it’s also good just for us to stay friends because we were having to FaceTime for the business every couple of weeks.
“Now he just comes round or I go round to him and we just talk it through and it’s made a lot more progress for the business as well.”
It’s suitable that the fashion-conscious duo have ended up in Italy. Milan, which sits roughly three hours west of Treviso, is renowned as the world’s fashion capital. And Treviso is the birthplace of the formerly iconic fashion brand Benetton Group.
“We’ve worked quite closely with the club to get our merch in the club store at the stadium. They’ve been really good with that.
“It’s been good because it’s opened our eyes to what works, what doesn’t work, what different styles are out here. Streetwear is not a big thing here in Italy but we’ve seen a few boys have been wearing our stuff and they’re changing their style slightly. We must be doing something right.”
This weekend Umaga and his cohort travel to Gloucester for the Challenge Cup semi-final, their second in as many seasons. Last year they reached this stage for the first time, losing to eventual winners Toulon without even scraping a point. There is hope in Treviso that this year could be different.
“Everyone is buzzing. To be fair, we had a lot of sore bodies after the Ulster game, but the boys are pretty pumped this time.
“We’ve got the experience and learnt from those lessons, just how to cope in those bigger situations I think. Throughout the season we’ve had some big games.
“Benetton historically aren’t known for being up in these types of positions and I think the last few years, the boys have realised how close they can be to playing in these games and bigger competitions regularly.”
Gloucester isn’t just a chance for Treviso to advance to a maiden European final, but it’s a return, of sorts, for Umaga. Having grown up plying his trade in England, aside from a brief sojourn to Auckland, making it to a final with Wasps before their combustion, how does he feel about coming back?
“I find it pretty weird to be fair. When we played Newcastle earlier this year, that might have been the first English team I’ve played since I left Wasps.
“It was strange. I used to play against these lads every couple of weeks, so it is pretty weird. But it’s cool to go back and see those guys again, and actually test yourself against the Premiership.”
In Italy siesta is known as ‘riposo’. Shops are closed at midday for three hours or so for people to go home, rest, and be with family.
Lovely piece Rhys. Keep going.