Wasps Rugby had more to contend with than most last Aviva Premiership season as they uprooted and moved to the Ricoh Arena. The decision was initially greeted with angst however as the facts became clear the feelings warmed and the Ricoh has been, unequivocally, a huge success.
This year Dai Young has had much greater tools at his disposable in terms of signing power and he has used them well when you read the names are are arriving; Jimmy Gopperth, Dan Robson, Frank Halai, Charles Piutau and George Smith to name just a few. Dai has targeted a number of these individuals specifically for their experience as he shared at the Aviva Premiership launch;
“We’ve brought real quality in and people that have been a part of winning environments, because I think that is important, because that was missing with us to be honest. We didn’t have many players within our set up that were used to being part of winning environments and knowing what it is to, and the demands that it takes, to do that little bit extra to make sure that you win the tight games and maintain it for the full season.”
“If you look at some of our established names in the squad they are still young men, they came into the squad very young and they have got better with every season so we are going to see a far stronger squad”
The long and the short of it is that if all of his players are fit then the selection headaches that Dai Young could have are of the migraine variety!! Last season there was little wrong with Wasps’ output; their forward pack was dominant and their backs housed more than enough spark to ignite proceedings. Nathan Hughes was a dominant force across all of the statistics with 238 carries, 37 offloads, Joe Simpson scored the try of the season and Andy Goode was the ever present in the middle. Goode, as strong as he was, shouldn’t leave a gaping hole in proceedings this year as Jimmy Gopperth has plenty of experience and Alex Lozowski, in my opinion, has the potential to be a fly-half of George Ford’s calibre.
When it came down to the final rounds Wasps faltered however with a stronger pool to select from and that added experience the same shouldn’t happen this year. If this squad gels, and I expect them to, they have the potential to push themselves right into the Top 4 mix. Europe will challenge them with Leinster, Bath and Toulon however they should take much confidence from their trip to Toulon last year and be ready to hit the ground running in both competitions.
Players In - Jimmy Gopperth from Leinster, Dan Robson from Gloucester Rugby, Frank Halai from Blues, Brendan Macken from Leinster, Tom Bristow from Leicester Tigers, Jamie Stevenson from London Scottish, James Downey from Glasgow Warriors, George Smith from Lyon, James Johnston from Saracens, Alex Rieder from Rotherham Titans & Charles Piutau from Aukland Blues
Players Out - Tom Varndell to Bristol Rugby, Will Helu to Edinburgh Rugby, Andy Goode to London Irish, Ed Jackson to Newport Gwent Dragons, Charlie Davies to Newport Gwent Dragons, Tom Lindsay to Gloucester Rugby, Will Taylor to Scarlets, Jack Moates to Jersey, Oli Evans to Jersey, Sam James to Bedford Blues, Martyn Thomas to London Welsh, Gus Jones to London Welsh, Glyn Hughes to Moseley, Buster Lawrence to Moseley, John Yapp (Retired) & Chris Bell (Retired)
