The most important week of the season?

[Wombles]

Yesterday was, to be frank, the lowest point of this season. From the heights of a line out away from a premiership title just a few months previously to being unable to get a win at home versus a team working against 4 yellow card is quite a fall from grace. I wrote yesterday that I was angry, and that still stands as we know we have a team that can do better, and although less will agree, I believe we have a head coach who can deliver more, and this is why the angst is measurably more.

So how do we turn it around?

Given where we are in the season it MUST start Saturday against Clermont Auvergne. There are no more last chance saloons, no more ‘We must turn it around next week’, there is only now, and this is why the next week will be pivotal. The boys will start the process tomorrow, and no week will be bigger. Get it right, get the training right, get the preparation right, get the selection right, get the emotions right and next Saturday could be the start of the revival....It’s time, so despite our current emotions, let’s get behind them!

Chris

Once a Wasp ALWAYS a Wasp 

[Hymenoptera]

I disagree it's the lowest point of the season...take your pick of games, they have all been the same performance with different opposition.

I've said from the beginning of the season, game 1, we were shocking, even in the wins, only to be told how many positives there are, how unlucky we have been, how its the ref, how we are the only tired team in the prem and how close we are...we are a top 4 side. I've been 'smited' off the forum for identifying and expressing this malaise against the opinion of the delusion brigade...which is ironic given the change of tone now that we are 15 games in.

Our rugby is so route one, basic, creative-less..i could be watching a pub team, its so dull. With the individual errors that killed us early season now corrected, it only highlights how badly lead and coached we appear to be. Leadership has always been an issue, never more so than now. Shields appears to be the only leader we have and has single handedly carried this team this season and with our only game changer out injured long term, we appear to have run out of hiding places.

Passion, fight and energy are tangibles that you can create with little effort and no skill at all....we have none of these in anything we do, from line speed to kick chases, the only thing we excel in is taking contact and giving penalties....something is very wrong.

'Next Week' was last week, and the week before that, and the w...

The one positive is that covid has saved fans the indignity of watching this garbage in person.

[Shugs]

So what are your solutions Hymoneptera. Your assessment is clearly that it's all shot to bits, our coaches are no good, our players, Shields apart, have no passion or work rate, our play is dull even when we win. So what should those in charge do? Clear out the coaches and start again? What if there's no transformation? Do it again? Should we appoint a senior overseer? Possibly but we don't have lots of spare cash. Do we need to overhaul our recruitment processes? Personally I've been happy with our intake of players and from our starting fifteen from Saturday I could only pick out two players who have not been recognised in some form internationally and one of those was Gopperth. It's the easiest thing in the world to just say everything's rubbish. I think most fans recognise that we're bringing quite a few youngsters through and that takes time and you get some rank performances and inconsistency along the way (not the cause on Saturday I grant you). That opinion should not be confused with one eyed optimism. We're struggling at the minute, there's no doubt about it. But for me the wider picture looks healthy so we don't need to throw the baby out with the bath water.

[MarleyWasp]

Personally I think this weekend is an opportunity to play without pressure. Players often comment that European weeks feel different; there's more unknown due to the variety of opposition, different set of match balls etc... We're unbeaten so far in Europe this season so have nothing to lose.

I suspect we'll see the Wasps of 20th February to end of last season this weekend.

[DGP Wasp]

Personally I think this weekend is an opportunity to play without pressure. Players often comment that European weeks feel different; there's more unknown due to the variety of opposition, different set of match balls etc... We're unbeaten so far in Europe this season so have nothing to lose.

I suspect we'll see the Wasps of 20th February to end of last season this weekend.

I admire your optimism!

With no relegation in the Premiership, then I'm not sure the team is under any less pressure this weekend.  The glimmer of hope for me is that Clermont like to play an open running game, so perhaps that style will favour Wasps more than what they have been up against with recent Premiership opponents.  I will be happy if Wasps rediscover some of their attacking brilliance from last season, even if it's not enough against Clermont.  I want to see that intent and desire.

As to the question in the thread title, yes, it probably is the most important week of the season, but purely from the point of view that while this wretched run goes on, each week becomes more important than the last.  Lose on Saturday and guess what?  Next week is our new most important week of the season.

[Neils]

This is not a match we will win. Even firing on all cylinders it would be difficult. Might be tempted to rest a few players and see what some of the youngsters can do as a group. If we lose we have a free weekend I think so the "most important week" (for me) is the run up to the next Prem match.

[Brandnewtorugby]

Well, one thing is for sure, if Wasps pull off a win then that would be one hell of a lift for confidence. A dry track, everything to play for, low expectations, ball carriers and ball players back in the squad for a couple of weeks to get back into team mode.

Wasps odds 2.5 and Clermont 1.5, so the bookies expect Clermont winning  2 - 2.2 from 3 games.