By The Analyst
August 8 2002

On reflection Wasps last season's performance was a complete mystery. Although injuries may have had a large part to play in a dismal first half, they recovered to look, like Saints, a completely different team in the second half. As a club , they have always been loyal to their own and produced their own players and coaches. Perhaps Nigel Melville suffered from at last becoming too much part of the furniture and lost his authority over the players as a result. For whatever reason , results were much improved under Warren Gatland , but perhaps the biggest reason for the turnaround was the return of the mighty Mr Dallaglio, who , as a result of having to rehab a lengthy injury, was a giant refreshed for the run-in.

The flip side of this is the worrying extent to which Wasps rely on him mentally. It's a bit like the English cricket team in the past, when the batting always collapsed if Boycott or Atherton were out early. Added to this Wasps have in the past also struggled when Alex King has been injured .

In any event, the familiar features were all there by the end of the season, the massive front row, the colossal Shaw at lock, Dayglo, Worsley and Volley foraging and bursting through tackles added to speed and power right through the backline.

They were a total handful for any opposition and most likely to be beaten only by their own mistakes. The weakness remains the goalkicking, where either of Kenny "earmuffs" Logan or Alex King. Both can be good one day or spectacularly awful another.


TRANSFERS

Well, they've transferred grounds for a start, and will be based at High Wycombe footie club for the foreseeable future.

On a more serious note, they have shed "Corp" Jones, Simon Cross, Rory Jenkins, ex-Saint Colin Allen, Lawrence Scrase, Dugald Macer, Martin 'chariots' Offiah, Matt Leek,and Simon Friday , while signing Rob Howley and giving contracts to a fair tranch of their extremely successful academy .

This reflects their tradition of growing their own players and not being afraid to play them.earlier. Generations off the production line of course include Dallaglio and Worsley, but there is a group of youngish pros like Birkett, Locke, Beardshaw, Scrivener, Mackenzie & others who are more likely to be the bench warmers and injury reserves for this year. The danger may be another wave of injuries forcing them to play with too little experience because of the extreme youth of a large chunk of the squad.

Howley should prove an exciting capture and already knows Dallaglio's game well from Lions tours. He will not miss games due to test duty, but obviously has a record of injury. As to the lack of other big name signings, they really do have a lot of big names in their squad already,with the forwards mentioned above (the front rows include will Green, Craig Dowd, Darren Molloy, Trev Leota and the Dome) , and the likes of Lewsey, Waters, Denny, Roiser, Logan, Sampson and Martyn Wood as well as Howley and King in the backs


MANAGEMENT

Apart from Gatland the other big name last term was Shaun Edwards as defensive coach, the rest being typically better known within the club than outside, but none the worse for that. The ownership position is less clear cut with Chris Wright's Chrysalis trading vehicle understood to be feeling the drain on resources from the QPR side of the operation, which caused indirectly the relocation to Adams Park this year and times being harder generally in the world of sponsored sport.

Gatland is a Kiwi, and they are all born rugby coaches, with a deep knowledge of the game absorbed from childhood. He has always been popular with his players, and the whispers that his Irish assistants did most of the coaching when he had the Irish squad were probably IRU spin after they sacked him. Certainly Wasps are glad to have him and the revival last year took place during his stewardship.

PROSPECTS

If there is one club who rival T****s for stability and evolving as a team it is Wasps. They have all the ingredients, a powerful pack with a pacey back row prepared to get their knees dirty, experience at half back and pace throughout the team. They are suspect only at goalkicking and at turning over the opposition lineout . Their defence is full of big hitters.

If you asked most other teams , few would say they felt confident playing them away, or indeed at home. Very formidable- certainly a bit of a problem side for us Saints in the past,as their strengths tend to duplicate ours with a bit of extra speed thrown in.

Downside ? Injury to Dallaglio, King , Howley , Logan or Shaw , but particularly the first two of those. Maybe a problem with the fan base as a result of the move, but there is a lot of untapped potential in that area also.

Otherwise ?
Top 4, but you could have said that about them for the last 3 years at least.