High-flying Wasps now in a better position to spread their wings

Wasps have travelled a fair distance, both literally and metaphorically, over the past three years. Their journey has taken them from a position of having no money, no shirt sponsor and a tenancy in a fourth division soccer ground, Adams Park, to ownership of one of a 32,000-seater stadium, the Ricoh Arena in Coventry and financial stability.

Derek Richardson, a Cork-born, Dublin-raised, multi-millionaire bought the London club and handed them a future when at their lowest ebb. He prefers the background to the limelight but that cannot hide the esteem in which he is held.

Wasps' director of rugby Dai Young is an enthusiastic disciple. He appreciates how close the club came to ruin; he once paid for the hire of the team bus out of his own pocket.

For the second season running the club will travel to Dublin to take on Leinster on the opening weekend of the Champions Cup. Last time they gave the Irish province a fright-and-a-half before Leinster managed to squeak home.

Stronger position

Young was asked to draw a line from the recent past to the present. “We’re in a much stronger position on and off the field. Certainly it wasn’t a pleasant experience that everyone went through but it probably toughens you up a little bit.

“Some of the guys that have been at Wasps for a long period have been through a bit of the dark side but have now come through and everything looks rosier and sunnier in the garden. Everyone wants to be a part of us moving forward, on and off the field.

“It’s exciting at the Ricoh with the crowds that we have and some of the sponsors that have come on board. Things are moving in the right direction. We have to keep them moving forward on the field. Certainly we are a more attractive proposition on the field than we were a couple of seasons ago.”

Young enthusiastically embraces the challenge that this season’s Champions Cup presents.

“I think the pool (containing Leinster, Toulon, Bath and Wasps) is really exciting. You can look at it as if it’s a daunting type of situation. . . . We were thrilled when we saw the group. We believe that we are on a little bit of a journey as a club and as a team. The more quality games that you can play; it is going to help you in that process.

“Win, lose or draw coming out of this group we are going to be a far better team for the experience. We played Leinster last year twice; yes they were a bit too much for us but we believe that we caused them problems and believe that we have a better squad now. On our day we think that we can cause them real problems.

“Even Toulon, out there in France, for big parts in that game (last season’s quarter-final) we were in it. Nobody is putting money on us, no one is going to put their house on us getting our of the group but we are confident that if we can play to our potential we can upset a few people. There is no reason why we can’t perform well in this group.”

Momentum is a crucial factor in trying to muster a challenge, something that can be tricky given the format of the competition where the pools are broken into three slots of two matches over three months.

Young said that, while ideally he would have preferred to start the tournament at home rather than travelling to the RDS, it is more important to absorb the lessons of last season when Wasps got off to a slow start before clambering their way to a quarter-final.

“It can be hard to get momentum because you play two games and then it is back to domestic league for a couple of games and so on. The team you put on the field (in each block of matches in the Champions Cup) can be vastly different due to injuries and other things.

Two games

We lost our first two games and still got out of the group. That wouldn’t have happened three or four seasons ago. Then you would have had to win all your home games and hopefully get an away victory. There is such quality in this tournament now that I don’t think it is out of the question for teams to go away from home and win.

“It’s not as easy just to say that you are going to win all your home games. For us, what you want to do and learning from last season is that you don’t want to lose your first two games. We at least want to get some points on the board that will give the double header against Bath (in December) some real meaning.

“Who knows going into the last two games? There will be far more pressure on Leinster and Toulon going into those matches than us. If you started naming some of the Leinster players you are going to run out of paper. We are very respectful of what Leinster have got in their armoury and they can play many ways.

“They have the physicality to roll their sleeves up and keep it tight and have the flair and ability to play the wide game as well. For us it’s about being respectful of them but it is more about us getting ourselves into the game and getting our weapons involved in the game.”

For Wasps these days it’s all about taking care of business on the pitch.