Once a Wasp, always a Wasp: The Premier 15s waves goodbye to an extraordinary team
After 38 years playing top-flight women’s rugby Wasps bowed out in style with a gutsy performance against Bristol Bears, in the final round of the Premier 15s regular season, surrounded by generations of Wasps and their families.
It was a day which truly encapsulated the club’s motto “Once a Wasp, always a Wasp” from start to finish.
Everywhere you looked there was a women’s rugby legend who had been part of the club’s journey and will continue to be long after this season. The Wasps Legends formed a tunnel to cheer their team out onto the pitch before kick-off and at the final whistle, they were all invited to join the Wasps huddle which created a striking image of the scale of all those who had been involved with creating the incredible legacy Wasps have established over the years.
Sue Martineau was a particular driving force behind founding the club. From being the last club in London to allow women in the bar to the first men’s Premiership side to have a women’s team, it’s been quite the journey for Wasps thanks to the determination of strong women like Martineau at the helm.
In the background of our conversation, the mood is one of celebration and connection. Former players were playing touch rugby on the pitch, there were Wasps shirts aplenty, and groups of current and former players and staff surrounding the clubhouse at Twyford Avenue, all of which created a buzz of joyful reminisce about what it means to be a Wasp.
Despite the slightest tinge of sadness in the air, the overall mood is one of happiness and celebration as Martineau recounted the beginnings of the women’s side that went on to become one of the most well-renowned clubs in the country.
She said: “There were a group of us leaving Loughborough and we needed a home. Finchley had a team, but they didn’t want us, they said ‘No we don’t want six or seven players coming into our team.’ We were on tour in Nijmegen and I bumped into a Wasp player at the bar. I said ‘I’m looking for a club with my teammates’ and he gave me the contact details of Ivor Montlake down at Wasps.
“So I wrote to him, because there were no mobile phones in those days, and he said we’ve got an AGM, prepare something and come down. It was in Repton Avenue and I asked a couple of friends to come with me. As we were walking up the path I could see all these faces in the windows, and when we got in there I was told to do the presentation.
“I stood up in front of them and said we have to have somewhere to play and if all you can give us is a pitch and a changing room, that’s enough. We’ve got the most fantastic group of players, we have to expand this team, this has to keep going, and they said ‘we’ll have a vote’ on it.
“We had the most wonderful players part of our era including Red Rose number one Karen Almond. We said we’ve got the best player in the country, she needs a home.
“ I went back and I received a letter two days later to say it [the vote] was unanimous and not only will we give you a pitch and a changing room, but we want you completely integrated into the club. I then got a job in London as a teacher and we started the committee.
“It was then a case of them saying they’d get us a set of shirts, and they gave us the black and yellow. We said thank you, but actually, we’d like the black because they were the ones the men’s first team played in. What we had to do in those days was work in the kitchen on a Saturday to serve the men to earn our place to play rugby on the Sunday. We didn’t mind because we were so happy to have a home and be playing rugby.”
In 1987, Wasps and Richmond became the first women’s teams ever to play at Twickenham when they played in the championship final. Martineau captained the victorious Wasps team and became the first woman to lift a trophy at Twickenham.
The part that Wasps have played in women’s rugby and women’s sport has been monumental and has helped paved the way for the game to reach new heights such as those that were celebrated in April as the Red Roses played in their first-ever standalone fixture in front of 58,000 people at the home of English Rugby.
Martineau said: “When you’re young you just fight for the moment. I was so jealous that the men always had everything on a plate, and it seemed like us women had to fight for everything. That consumes you and we just kept striving and striving.
“We were the first women to ever play at Twickenham, which was 35 years before the England vs France game [in April 2023]. We were playing in a cup final against Richmond, we got to the pitch and there was no one there of course.
“There was the cleaner sweeping up and they got the key to open the changing rooms. We came running out onto the pitch with about five people in the stand opposite. The other week when England played France, 58,000 people in attendance, that was emotional. Walking up there we thought this is how far it’s come, this is how far women’s rugby has come. The atmosphere was fantastic.”
For Martineau her game at Twickenham held special memories due to the injury she played the duration of the historic fixture with.
“Playing at Twickenham and holding the cup, to be the first woman ever to hold a trophy up at Twickenham was very special, and I did it with a broken arm! Two weeks before, I broke my arm but I couldn’t miss it.
“The physio in the team, she cut off the cast for me, and the coach brought a soft cast, but there was no way I was not going to be on that pitch! The next morning I had to call my mum and say ‘Guess what I did yesterday!’ I’d been interviewed on TV and someone from home had seen and said to my mum, ‘I saw your Sue on TV yesterday, she was playing at Twickenham.’ My mum replied ‘No she’s not, she’s got a broken arm,’” she said with a laugh.
Alongside Wasps, other women’s clubs in London played a massive part in rugby’s history, and as such they remain a close-knit group to this day.
“It was a really special day, and it was those sorts of things that started to put women’s rugby on the map. It’s not just us Wasps legends, but Saracens and Richmond were really big teams at that time. We’ve got a Wasps Women’s Founders’ dinner on the 12th September and Saracens’ founders are bringing a table [of people], and Richmond’s founders are bringing a table.”
While their final day in the Premier 15s was one of celebration, the adversity the club has faced over the past year brings an underlying bittersweet sadness to the day. Martineau remained confident however that all those involved with Wasps will keep the spirit of the club alive no matter what level of competition they are playing at.
The former back row said: “We’re devastated about what’s happened to the women and the men. It’s very tough for those players, and what people don’t realise is that it’s livelihoods that have been torn apart and hopes and dreams.
“People have had to move on and find different things and find other clubs but actually, those things make you stronger.
“Wasps will come back in some form, but this community will never go away. This amateur club will never go away.
“We started as amateurs, and that’s why I think we will be okay. I’m confident there will always be a women’s side down here and if not, we [Wasps legends] will be getting on our kit and coming down here!
“We will never ever let women’s rugby at Wasps die,” she added with immense pride.
Comments on RugbyPass
The 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?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 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
3 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 commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to comments