15 for 10: Wasps - an all-decade XV
The penultimate 15 for 10 takes us to the West Midlands, where it’s been a tumultuous decade for Wasps, who have avoided relegation and administration, found a new home and more recently struggled after an initial surge up the table following their departure from High Wycombe.
The club formerly known as London Wasps have begun putting down roots in Coventry, with confirmation of a new state of the art training facility to be built, and a number of their stalwarts from their days in the home counties have since parted ways with the club.
It’s a decade that has marked a new era for the club, although plenty of the players who made the cut below shone during the team’s days in High Wycombe. Read on for the XV and let us know who you think we missed.
- Willie le Roux
Perhaps the most talent-rich position for Wasps over the last decade, with Charles Piutau and Kurtley Beale having enjoyed short spells at the club, the final couple of years of club legend Mark van Gisbergen, as well as Hugo Southwell and Rob Miller all on the books at one point or another. That said, le Roux revitalised his career in Coventry, having previously struggled at the Sharks after he left the Cheetahs. His platform for Rugby World Cup success was rebuilt in the West Midlands.
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- Christian Wade
The 28-year-old was agonisingly close to breaking the all-time Premiership try record before he left to try his luck in the NFL, with his mark of 82 just 10 shy of Tom Varndell’s 92. With the time Wade still had left on his side, there was very little doubt he would have comfortably exceeded the mark. Even in poorer Wasps sides, Wade was still a threat to score from anywhere on the pitch and he was unlucky not to have made more of a mark in the international arena.
- Elliot Daly
A mention for the versatile Andrea Masi, who made his presence felt in a number of positions for the club, although none would likely dispute Daly’s ownership of this jersey. The England international repeatedly excelled for Wasps at outside centre and his searing pace and cannon of a boot proved vital in plenty of Wasps wins over the past decade.
- Jimmy Gopperth
The Kiwi has arguably never looked better than when he was playing at inside centre outside of Danny Cipriani. The dual-playmaker axis worked exceptionally well for Wasps and it is no coincidence that the team’s recent struggles have happened whilst Gopperth has been sidelined by injury.
- Tom Varndell
A nod to Josh Bassett, who has been very consistent for the club at a time when they have endured fairly significant season-on-season departures in the back three, although Varndell was the difference between the club staying in the Premiership and being relegated and likely going into administration. In addition to that excellent individual season, Varndell was also a dangerous attacking threat whenever he took to the pitch.
- Danny Cipriani
Welsh fly-halves Stephen Jones and Nicky Robinson had their moments at Wasps, although it was during Cipriani’s second spell with the club that they looked closest to rediscovering their title-winning ways. It didn’t quite happen for the club, although Cipriani did push himself back into England contention, even if it was only for one summer tour of South Africa.
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- Joe Simpson
A tough call, with Dan Robson having excelled since moving to the club, although it was the longevity and consistency of Simpson’s service over the entire decade that swung this in his favour. Schooled in Ealing, Simpson was one of the club’s last links to their former London roots, with the scrum-half, Daly and Wade having all left the club this year. His electric ability is still being used to very good effect by Gloucester.
- Matt Mullan
An astute signing back in 2013, Mullan went on to represent Wasps over 100 times and was talked up as an England option for much of his early years at the club. He was only denied regular opportunities by England’s strength at the position, although his form for Wasps was strong enough to edge him ahead of another club stalwart, Simon McIntyre.
- Rob Webber
The peak of Webber’s career arguably came in the last couple of years he spent at Wasps, something which was enough to catch Bath’s eye and earn him a lucrative move west. Tommy Taylor has been plagued by injury problems since he moved from Sale, which seals this spot for Webber, who was pushing hard for England caps earlier in the decade.
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- Lorenzo Cittadini
There has been a lot of player movement at tighthead for Wasps over the past 10 years and a number of players, such as Kieran Brookes and Marty Moore might also have valid claims on this spot. That said, Cittadini did well in a team that wasn’t built around the strength of its scrum and helped stabilise a unit that was often put under pressure by opponents.
- Joe Launchbury
An honourable mention for the last year and a half of Simon Shaw’s time at the club, although the torch was placed in safe hands with the arrival of Launchbury. The lock has gone on to captain the club and has been the one player to commit his long-term future to the club, with the dust having settled on the move to Coventry. He represents the past and the future of the team and there have been few more dedicated servants to Wasps.
- James Gaskell
Gaskell sees off the challenge of Marco Wentzel thanks to the longevity of his service since arriving from Sale in 2014. His mobility and lineout ability suited the club’s high-tempo style of play during their 2016-18 peak. He has impressed alongside Launchbury and provided stability as Wasps’ turnover of players has risen.
- Ashley Johnson
This position could have ended up with Sam Jones, had injury not sadly curtailed his promising career. That said, Johnson has been an exemplary signing for Wasps since arriving from the Cheetahs. He was pivotal in helping Wasps through their battle against relegation in High Wycombe, before providing an important ball-carrying spark as they consolidated in Coventry and attempted to push up the Premiership table.
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- Thomas Young
If one position stacks up with full-back at Wasps, it’s openside flanker, where Serge Betsen, Jack Willis and George Smith have all plied their trade, as well as the final season or two of Tom Rees’ injury-ravaged career. James Haskell is arguably the most unlucky to miss out, with the veteran having buoyed Wasps in his second stint with the club, but Young has been a revelation for the Coventry-based outfit and has only been denied more opportunities with Wales due to quality of that nation’s openside options.
- Nathan Hughes
Hughes peaked in Wasps’ rapid rise up the table in the 2015/16 season and over the following couple of seasons, he would make himself integral to the club’s style of play. He may not have had the same impact in international rugby, although Bristol Bears’ massive contract to him in the summer is confirmation of the talent and game-breaking ability that he has.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments