Can Wasps fix their fatal flaw?
With the 2017/18 Aviva Premiership season hurtling ever closer, like a freight train painted a gaudy yellow and blue, Dan Johansson asks whether last season’s beaten finalists Wasps can overcome their defensive deficits to lift some long awaited silverware.
With the much maligned move to Coventry firmly established and proving fruitful, Wasps turned it up a notch last season by playing some absolutely gorgeous rugby.
RT if #GopperthFinish is your @Purityale #PureGold Moment of 16/17. Join us to find out the 17/18 #PureGold moment https://t.co/u0fvkrVdhn pic.twitter.com/hhTL36bO6S
— Wasps Rugby (@WaspsRugby) July 31, 2017
The likes of Jimmy Gopperth, Elliot Daly and Christian Wade raised their game to make Wasps the most formidable attacking outfit in the league. Unfortunately, this offensive flair seemed to come at a cost. Despite vastly outperforming everyone else when it came to points scoring, no other team in the top 7 conceded more tries. Wasps’ patchy defence and occasional ill-discipline would ultimately prove their undoing, falling to a determined Exeter Chiefs side after extra time in a hotly contested Premiership final.
Last season will have reminded the black and yellow side that attacking flair alone won’t be enough to herald a return to the glory days of the early 2000s. Despite tries coming from all over the field, Wasps’ defensive vulnerabilities meant few teams genuinely feared the sting, knowing opportunities for their own scores wouldn’t be far away.
Wasps will go into this season knowing that unless they tighten up their defence, better rounded teams will punish them. However, that’s easier said than done, unless of course they can somehow figure out how to clone Thomas Young, who seemed to tackle everything in sight and then some. For whatever reason, Wasps just couldn’t prevent holes being punched in their defensive line, regardless of the individual ability of each player.
Of course, regardless of a seemingly soft underbelly, Wasps topped the league, winning more games than anyone else in the process. They are a formidable outfit, and few would put money on them not being at the north end of the table come season’s end. Whilst other teams may hope that they’ve figured out how to neutralise Wasps’ attacking threats for this campaign, the sheer talent on display makes this a difficult job. Elliot Daly had a stellar Lions tour and will be full of confidence.
Christian Wade and the newly signed Marcus Watson have proven their match fitness and potency by tearing it up on the way to victory at the Singha 7s tournament this summer, and even if Jimmy Gopperth can’t replicate his outstanding form from last year the equally capable Danny Cipriani is waiting in the wings.
In terms of outgoings, the most notable loss is Kurtley Beale, at least name-wise. That said, despite making the Rugby Pass Team of the Year , you get the feeling Wasps are more than capable of losing such a high profile star without any major hit to performance, especially if Willie Le Roux can remember to, you know, actually keep hold of the ball when approaching the try line.
Despite all this, the ability to create chances means nothing if you can’t keep the opposition from scoring at will. Christian Wade was by far the top try scorer in the Premiership last season, but his inability to perform consistently on the back foot is why Eddie Jones was able to overlook him for England.
Wasps recruitment won’t have done much to assure supporters that the colander defence is a thing of the past either. Juan de Jongh will be joining from the Stormers as a replacement for Nick De Luca, and has earned plaudits in South Africa for his strong defence despite relatively diminutive size. However, few Stormers fans will be sad to see him go, with injuries and mixed form seeing de Jongh dropped from the full Springboks squad into the South Africa ‘A’ team. He may well find a new lease of life at the Ricoh, but Wasps fans won’t be counting their larvae before they hatch.
With painful memories of a lost final providing plenty of motivation, Wasps’ odds of going one step further this season look reasonable, but will largely depend on whether they can sort out their leaky rear-guard (no giggling please), and of course whether other sides can figure out how to prevent their superstars from strutting their stuff. It wouldn’t be overly surprising to see Wasps tinkering with a couple of different playing strategies this season as they try to develop a more well-rounded game.
Expect to see a renewed focus on the set piece and a few more kicks at goal in an attempt to keep the opposition honest. I’d also put money on the league’s top try scorer again coming from the Wasps side, though exactly who that’ll be is less obvious. What is clear though is that replicating last season’s first place finish is going to be exceptionally tough if Wasps can’t start demonstrating the same level of chemistry without the ball as they do with it.
Comments on RugbyPass
Bar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
9 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
35 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
35 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
35 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
35 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
35 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
35 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
35 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
18 Go to comments