Always a Wasp

35 minute gone and it's a nail biter. We tried too hard to start and had to settle down. 7-14

Good morning and Welcome Pat! Let's hope the first result we talk about here is a 5 pointer!

Looking at today's results I'd agree Tigers in 4th.   I'm not entirely convinced we'll finish top, but it could easily happen.

One major thing today's results have shown is that we weren't that terrible against Worcester after all.

Hi NWW, nice to see you here.

You may notice that on the left, where it shows your username and avatar (picture) if you have chosen one there is something called "Karma"

This is a way of showing whether you like or dislike a post.  So for example when Raggs posts one of his detailed match breakdowns and you like it you click on the thumbs up.  If for some reason you don't like detailed and helpful posts about Wasps then you'd click the thumbs down.  The forum keeps a running record of positive or negative karma and displays it for us all to see.

The idea is that it actively encourages us all to post things that are informative/entertaining/funny or just enjoyable.

You don't have to use it of course, but I thought you might like to know what it was.

Oh, think I read one of the predictions lists on the other thread thinking it was the actual team announced.

Oops, that was me I think.

I think that is probably the most abrasive team we could field.  I can see why Dai might choose them, we have looked a little naive of late, and against Leinster we were bullied.   I guess other teams will have seen that and learned from it.

We should have enough there to get a 5 point win, but I'm certainly not taking it for granted at this point...

Thanks for doing this Raggs, it's a very interesting read.  Seeing the numbers as an objective measure makes it much less open to personal interpretation, but I still think I disagree with a few of your conclusions.

I agree that Cips is a better distributor than Gopps, but I don't think the intercept is any reason not to play him.  Just like I don't think the odd charge down, or booting the ball right into the back of one of his own team mates is a reason to drop Cips.  I think the two of them have different strengths and weaknesses and we chould be picking based on how we want the team to function.

For me the way Cips plays typifies our entire approach.  It is exciting and he manages to do things that other people simply wouldn't dream of being possible.  But he regularly messes up with things that we should expect a professional to do without any problems.  That is Wasps all over.  Gopperth is a much more direct player, he doesn't have the flair, but is solid as a rock.  His mistakes come when he tries to match the way Cips plays.

Cips has a reputation for being an easy target.  He is regularly selected as a weak spot in our line either defensively, or as a focal point for the blitz against us.  No-one in their right mind thinks of Gopps that way.  Add to that the fact that Cips has clearly been carrying a knock for a little while and I'd start Gopps at 10.  Let the other team run at him for 60 minutes and then bring Cips on if he's fit.

As to the back line I agree Thompson should start.  He played as if he'd never been away.  The person that worries me is Youngyoung.  His work rate is still good, and he's doing the basics well, but he seems to have lost the jackalling edge he developed under Smith's tutelage.  I worry that perhaps his inclusion in the Welsh national squad is to blame.  I can't help but wonder if he was told he needs to cut out on the risky stuff and concentrate on playing the way the current Welsh set-up play, when it was the risky stuff that made him such a revelation.  It was his ability to come up with the ball when he had no right to that made him so impressive.  Yes it lead to more penalties than we'd really like as he played right on the edge, but that was exactly the same for Smith too.  Now he's just another back rower.  Fewer penalities, but fewer turnovers too.

I thought Hughes really laid down a marker.  He's not been quite his usual self for a little while, but he made a big impact and I think he rightly laid claim to a starting spot again.  To me Hasks is the weak point in the back row at the moment, but hopefully that is just a hangover from the Internationals.

Let's see what Dai does later today!