Where are they now? The last Wasps team before the collapse
It’s still hard to believe that Wasps went out of business just over two months ago, an October 17 training ground meeting confirming that 167 players and staff at the Gallagher Premiership club were being made redundant with immediate effect.
The feeling was that Wasps were simply too big to fail but the former Heineken Cup and Premiership champions couldn’t meet their financial commitments and kaput they went, sparking a footrace for employment elsewhere in a recruitment market already congested by the reduced Premiership salary cap and by the collapse a few weeks earlier of Worcester, their top-flight colleagues.
Wasps had started the Premiership season believing they would complete the campaign and that their cashflow problems would be solved by refinancing. No fresh bank terms were forthcoming, however, and fears that their future was in jeopardy spiralled out of control when their trip to Exeter was postponed just days after they had been beaten at home by Northampton in a CBS Arena thriller.
Ten-and-a-half weeks on from that 36-40 October 9 loss, RugbyPass has investigated what has since happened to the matchday 23 that played against the Saints and how they have fared in the bottleneck player recruitment market.
Eight of that Wasps 23 are currently contracted to Premiership clubs, four have moved into the URC, four more to the Top 14, two are free agents, two have gone to Japan, while one has gone to the Pro D2, one to the Championship and another to National One:
15. Jacob Umaga
Red-carded in the final Wasps match, he was set to play for the Barbarians in the English club tour but that idea was scratched when he was unveiled as a Benetton signing on November 14. Contracted until the end of the 2022/23 season, the 24-year-old has started twice at out-half in his four appearances for the Italian URC franchise.
14. Paolo Odogwu
A try-scorer versus Northampton, the flamboyant back had his future secured on October 27, ten days after the Wasps collapse, when he was unveiled by Stade Francais as a new signing for the 2022/23 season along with Vincent Koch. The 25-year-old has yet to feature in the Top 14 but he started the Parisian club’s two recent games in the European Challenge Cup at outside centre.
13. Burger Odendaal
The 29-year-old South African was confirmed last April as a new big-name signing from the Lions for the 2022/23 campaign but his Wasps career lasted just four games. Having already spent a season in Japan, he was quickly snapped up by Todd Blackadder to play for the Toshiba Brave Lupus after a link with Sale came to nought.
12. Ryan Mills
The Sale approach for Odendaal didn’t work out for the Manchester club but a short-term deal until the end of the current Premiership season was agreed with Mills on November 4. The 30-year-old debuted off the bench in last weekend’s Champions Cup loss at Toulouse.
11. Josh Bassett
The winger’s ability to find the try line always meant he would be in demand and he was swiftly signed by Harlequins on October 20 through to the end of this current season. Another 30-year-old, he has made five appearances for the Londoners, scoring twice in their entertaining Champions Cup loss at the Durban-based Sharks.
10. Charlie Atkinson
It was October 31 when the much-coveted 21-year-old, who was a firm favourite of Wasps boss Lee Blackett and the scorer of his team’s final try versus the Saints, was secured by Leicester on what was described as a long-term deal. Having settled in at Tigers with three Premiership appearances off the bench, he was the starting No10 whose goalkicking was crucial in the recent European wins over Ospreys and Clermont.
9. Dan Robson
It was November 15 when the out-of-favour England scrum-half was confirmed as a Pau signing through to the end of the current Top 14 season. The 30-year-old has gone on to make three appearances, debuting against Brive as a sub and making a first start at Castres on December 4.
1. Robin Hislop
Having toughed it out for years on the English Championship circuit, Hislop arrived at Wasps in the summer of 2021 determined to make his stay a long one. However, the 30-year-old Scottish prop is now looking to fulfil that ambition at Saracens, the club he joined on October 26 on a short-term deal as injury cover. Having played three times for Sarries on loan from Doncaster in 2020, the StoneX set-up wasn’t new to him and he started two Premiership games last month for them.
'We were going into administration but we were going to come straight back out of it, that was my understanding' @john_ryan_88 has gone from Wasps' collapse to an anarchic @Barbarian_FC environment & a return to Munster, writes @heagneyl ??? #BARvNZL https://t.co/Mto0cMxXSX
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 13, 2022
2. Gabriel Oghre
The 24-year-old hooker, who had come through the ranks at Wasps since a 2017/18 Anglo-Welsh Cup debut, was named by Leicester as a new short-term signing on November 21 but he has played just six minutes so far, debuting off the bench at Ospreys.
3. John Ryan
A late call-up from the bench for the ill Koch, who left the club without ever making a debut, the journey that the Irishman has embarked on since Wasps folded has been eventful. Despite agreeing to tour with the Barbarians for their entire four-game November schedule, it was October 25 when the former Ireland tighthead agreed to a three-month deal with Munster, his former club who lately wanted to extend that contract through to the end of this season. The 34-year-old Ryan, though, has instead secured a 2023 Super Rugby Pacific move to the New Zealand-based Chiefs.
4. Joe Launchbury
The long-serving England lock hasn’t played since the loss to Northampton, but the 31-year-old has plenty of rugby lined up. His post-Wasps career will start with a season in Japan with Toyota Verblitz and he will then link up with Harlequins back in the Premiership for the 2023/24 season amid hopes of getting back into the England Test squad now that Eddie Jones has exited.
5. Kiran McDonald
Having spent his entire professional career at Glasgow, the lock had come south of the border in the off-season looking to experience what the Premiership has to offer. His stay, though, amounted to just four starts and he was soon snapped up by Munster on October 28 on a three-month injury cover deal. He debuted for the Irish province in their win over South Africa XV in Cork and then linked up with the Barbarians for their English club tour.
6. Ben Morris
Another late matchday change, Morris got to briefly play instead of Tom Willis who is now starring with Bordeaux in the Top 14. The 31-year-old back-rower was injured just 14 minutes into that match versus Saints but that didn’t prevent him from signing a deal that took him to Birmingham Moseley in National One along with Wasps coach Ashley Johnson. He also featured for the Barbarians versus Northampton.
7. Jack Willis
The soon-to-be 26-year-old arguably found himself in the trickiest position as he was left trying to win England selection without being attached to a club. He featured twice off the Test bench but his omission for the series finale versus South Africa coincided with his November 24 signing by Toulouse through to the end of the current season. Has made three appearances and was an early December Top 14 scorer against Perpignan, the club that Brad Shields signed for.
8. Nizaam Carr
The ex-Springboks back-rower wasn’t left on the shelf for long as the Bulls announced the 31-year-old’s return to Pretoria on November 1. He has since been busy, making four appearances in the URC and in Europe.
Replacements:
16. Dan Frost
The 25-year-old was another whose services were quickly snapped up, the hooker getting announced as an Exeter signing on October 27 on a short-term injury dispensation deal. He has since appeared three times off the Premiership and European bench.
17. Rodrigo Martinez
The 24-year-old Argentine’s appearance off the bench against Northampton was just his fourth match for Wasps after joining in December last year from Olimpia, the Super Liga Americana de Rugby side. The loosehead is currently a free agent.
18. Biyi Alo
It was October 20 when the 28-year-old tighthead became a Racing 92 signing for the remainder of this season. It wasn’t until the start of December that he debuted versus Toulon in the Top 14, action followed by a start versus Harlequins last Sunday in Europe.
19. Tim Cardall
The soon-to-be 26-year-old lock is still a free agent despite rumours that he was a potential Western Force signing for the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season.
20. Kieran Curran
The 22-year-old was playing in just his third-ever Premiership game when introduced as a second-half sub at the CBS Arena. Received the best Christmas present when signing a December 22 deal with Championship side Bedford through to the end of the 2022/23 season.
21. Will Porter
The scrum-half was the starting No9 in the opening home match of the season versus Bristol and his efforts weren’t forgotten by the visiting Pat Lam as the Bears boss signed the 24-year-old as injury cover on October 24. Has played six times for his new club, five as a starter.
22. Will Haydon-Wood
The 22-year-old summer signing from Newcastle put his Wasps redundancy behind him by joining French Pro D2 strugglers Massy on November 24 through to the end of this season.
23. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso
It was November 9 when Feyi-Waboso became one of three Wasps academy talents – Alfie Bell and Greg Fisilau were the other two – signed by Exeter and he was quickly included on their Premiership bench for the visit of London Irish.
Comments on RugbyPass
Results probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
1 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to comments