Always a Wasp
General Category => Wasps Rugby Discussion => Topic started by: Wombles on May 21, 2022, 05:03:48 PM
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Not sure we deserve it, but Irish’s unexpected loss to Bath gives us a slight chance for HC rugby next season. All we have to do is get a win at Tigers! :o
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Or a high scoring (4 tries for us) draw!
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Fat chance.
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No chance - just like vs Toulouse.....
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Well we have a shot at it. A point last night would have made a difference.
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Well we have a shot at it. A point last night would have made a difference.
Totally but we blew it. Last night was the match to get the necessary points not against the Cheetahs at home.
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Well we have a shot at it. A point last night would have made a difference.
I think the Irish was the one. It would have been all done by now.
2 weeks to work on tactics, which doesn’t seem to have been the case too much this season.
I really hope Fifita will be available. I don’t want to see a centre partnership of Gopperth and Fekitoa
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Gosh there are some miserable buggers in this world. Howay lads, once more unto the breach and you just never know.
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I am trying to think of the name of that saloon we passed yesterday? Anybody?
Was it called 'The Last Chance ...'?
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Its a chance, and probably one that we do not deserve. I doubt anyone will give us a chance against Tigers, and quite rightly as well.
BUT
Our team has a lot to prove to not only us, but more importantly to themselves. For those remaining and coming next season, and to those leaving come seasons end, a victory against the odds and qualification for the HC would be something to be cherished!
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I'm not optimistic about it
However, I wasn't optimistic at all about being Tigers in the '07 HEC final... And in fact I nearly threw the tickets away when my wife bought them for my birthday.
In 2007 a number of surprises were sprung, I'm not sure what it would take to replicate that, but a part of me will always believe it's possible
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The Flying Pigs are there to be shot down.
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It is sport - anything is possible.
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It is sport - anything is possible.
That is probably the most accurate statement you can make about sport, and also why it keeps bringing us back week after week!
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Well we have a shot at it. A point last night would have made a difference.
I think the Irish was the one. It would have been all done by now.
2 weeks to work on tactics, which doesn’t seem to have been the case too much this season.
I really hope Fifita will be available. I don’t want to see a centre partnership of Gopperth and Fekitoa
Your suggesting we have tactics?
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You might have thought after the Irish game that our defence would have crumbled.
In fact it has held up pretty well. It is our attack that has crumbled.
Tigers know that they just have to defend averagely well to win comfortably.
Unless something unlikely happens.
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You might have thought after the Irish game that our defence would have crumbled.
In fact it has held up pretty well. It is our attack that has crumbled.
Tigers know that they just have to defend averagely well to win comfortably.
Unless something unlikely happens.
Remember that game when we sent basically a 2nd XV to Sarries and walked away with a massive win? That’s what needs to happen.
No more sentimentality*, let those who have a vested interest in whether or not we play in the HC next season have the last chance.
*h/t backdoc on Backs thread
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Yes - you would think a player like Curran would be a whirling dervish in a game like Tigers. All that pent up energy.
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Best available 23 for Tigers. It's shit or bust time. No room for sentimentality with selection and players leaving. Stooke will be hugely missed of course, but the rest of the squad has 2 weeks to prepare for a game that will define the success or failure of the past 9 months' efforts. Tigers will be selecting their best available 23 as they, like us have a rest weekend between now and then and they won't want to risk turning up cold for the semi, plus they still have the kudos of finishing top to play for.
This was in our hands, but points were dropped against our 2 closest rivals for that top 8 spot, and a lot of ground conceded, meaning we've been left playing catch up, when we should have got ourselves to where we needed to be by now. The team will be motivated for this one, but I'm not sure that will be enough. The equation now could not be simpler. No ifs or buts as Irish's race is run. We must win to qualify for the Champions Cup.
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It's shit or bust time.
Could not have put it better myself!
Last game of the season, the lads have to give every last drop of energy, in pursuit of the cause.
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Entirely selfishly, I don't mind the prospect of being in the Challenge Cup next year as it might throw up some more interesting Away Days.
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Entirely selfishly, I don't mind the prospect of being in the Challenge Cup next year as it might throw up some more interesting Away Days.
With you on this.
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Entirely selfishly, I don't mind the prospect of being in the Challenge Cup next year as it might throw up some more interesting Away Days.
With you on this.
Yep. This has always been my consolation in the past when we've not made the cut. At the moment Clermont are 9th in the Top14 with 1 to play, and Toulon, Toulouse and Lyon all scrapping for the final places so you never know. Zebre and Treviso have made for great trips in previous years.
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Entirely selfishly, I don't mind the prospect of being in the Challenge Cup next year as it might throw up some more interesting Away Days.
Absolutely agree.
A year in the, then called, Parker Pen cup started the revival of Wasps back in early noughties. Also the trip to Viadana a few years ago was brilliant.
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I think the Challenge Cup would do us wonders as well. From a rugby perspective, I imagine being handed pastings by the likes of Leinster hardly do us any good - even if being in the HC is lucrative from a business perspective.
I'm also interested in getting a few European weekends under my belt and I think I'd be more interested in some of the Challenge Cup destinations rather than the places Wasps regularly play.
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The only issue with the Challenge Cup is that it might discourage any high profile players we were trying to bring in at this late date...if indeed we are trying still.
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The last (only?) time we won the Challenge Cup, beating Bath, we followed up with the Champions Cup the next season.
Remember we beat Leicester at home - which none of us expected.
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Completely understand the travel/destination angle. But the mentality of it being a good thing to be in the sub-standard competition is dangerous. All of a sudden it’s accepted. A club such as Wasps should be pushing top 4, nailed on top six and Heineken Cup every year. Anything else isn’t good enough.
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Completely understand the travel/destination angle. But the mentality of it being a good thing to be in the sub-standard competition is dangerous. All of a sudden it’s accepted. A club such as Wasps should be pushing top 4, nailed on top six and Heineken Cup every year. Anything else isn’t good enough.
This isn't a mentality thing, and no-one has said it's "a good thing to be in the sub-standard competition". It's just a personal (and slightly selfish) angle for travelling Wasps supporters.
I don't think for one minute the players and coaches are thinking about new and interesting weekend destinations as some kind of consolation for not playing against the very best.
What do you mean by "All of a sudden it’s accepted"? As supporters, what choice do we have? That is reality. We either continue to support the team or we walk away. Yes, we're disappointed to miss out on the Champions' Cup (assuming we do) and expect more of the team, but guess what, so do supporters of every other Premiership club outside of the top 4, and the reality is there will only ever be 4 teams in the top 4. Saracens, Leicester, Quins, Saints, Exeter, Gloucester, Bristol, Bath, Sale as well as Wasps all started the season with some aspirations of top 4, or at least European qualification, and some of those have fallen a lot further short of pre-season expectations than Wasps have. Bottom line is, if Wasps were relegated to the Championship (God forbid!), then as a supporter I'd suck it up and start looking at flights to Jersey and hotels in Penzance!
I want Wasps to improve and succeed as much as the next person, but eventually I have to accept the reality I am presented with here and now.
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The only issue with the Challenge Cup is that it might discourage any high profile players we were trying to bring in at this late date...if indeed we are trying still.
That's fair. Although if we're in contention to qualify for 2023/24, perhaps it's less of an issue.
Wonder what it means for money to the Club. Are there bigger TV rights for the Champions Cup vs Challenge Cup? It's the same numbers of Group Homes games otherwise, right? and presumably a KO match likely to be well attended either way.
I wonder if the finances aren't so different, but totally get the 'pull' factor to incoming players to be playing in the Champions Cup.
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Lots of people say that it is very financially important to be in the Champions Cup but nobody has ever (AFAIK) quoted any actual details of £,s,d. The only definite that I can think of is ticket sales if you happen to be playing at home in the latter stages of the competition.
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You could even argue that we would have a greater chance of a home knockout game in the Challenge Cup than we would in the Champions' Cup. But Toulouse and Munster were probably more of a pull this season than say Dragons and Pau next.
Do we even know for certain who will end up in the Challenge Cup next season?
5 Premiership
6 Top 14
8 URC? Will URC teams (inc SA) still qualify on merit based on league position, rather than based on country?
That's 19 teams. A nice prime number for someone to devise a convoluted way to split into equal pools! Logical solution would be to chuck in the top club from the rest of Europe. The old 3rd tier shield competition was scrapped a few years ago, so not sure how that would be determined.
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Yes, I said I completely got the travel angle. I’ve seen loads of comments along the lines of “it’s better for us to be in the Challenge cup”. That’s accepting it. Eventually it becomes the norm - then the aspiration.
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>:(
Yes, I said I completely got the travel angle. I’ve seen loads of comments along the lines of “it’s better for us to be in the Challenge cup”. That’s accepting it. Eventually it becomes the norm - then the aspiration.
It really can't be the aspiration because it is the "basic" level cup. The aspiration will always be the "Big" cup. What we need is a cup run where we don't get stuffed by 30 odd points game after game. Build first then be prepared to stuff Leinster again.
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To be fair we’ve done OK against a lot of teams in the HC (totally stitched up by Poite at home to Munster). Everyone gets stuffed by a well rested Ireland….sorry Leinster.
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Good point. We did not disgrace ourselves at the top table this year. I want top tier rugby vs the big boys, regardless of the ask. Go and ask Man Uniteds of this world if they prefer Europa league where they can win or the top level competition. I think the answer will be unanimous, as it will be from our players and coaches. Top tier and Munster, please, not Rodney Parade.