Always a Wasp

Whilst I understand what you're saying about Simpson, the fact he plays to the speed of the game, just makes me afraid that Sarries defensive line is going to have all the time they need to reset after every phase (at most 2), whereas Robson's faster pace, with Cips' vision, may have helped get us them slightly more on the back foot and in disarray.

I guess if Sarries effectively kill the ruck every time, then Simpson is a better starter, but if he doesn't push the pace whenever possible, he's just giving their greatest strength more time to prepare for our attack.

My guess is that Sarries will play Barnes to his limit on slowing down the ruck ball, to give their line time to re-form. Risk a penalty or two in the process yes, but I bet they will do just that, and my guess is that Dai is betting the same. Our pack and Simmo have to be wise enough to see the slow clear away by the tackler and tie them in and stop them getting clear, thus blocking in the ball, without Barnes seeing it as a ruse to get a penalty. Against Quins, we were not that clever. We let the Quins player bounce around on the floor slowing it down, but we let them up and out, so Barnes did not ping them. In other games I have heard Barnes clearly say, you could have got away, but you were too slow, got locked in, and give the penalty.

Got to play the refs to the way they see the rules.

Well, this is it. What the season has been about. Ticket sales are still ticking over. West block looks sold, only a few tickets look to remain in North and East block, and maybe half of South Block is sold. Maybe 4000 tickets left then.

Notice I didn't title this post 'Players for Sarries game'? We have a lot of excellent players, but somehow for the last games, they haven't quite got it together as a team. It takes time for players to get to know each other and play off each other. Injuries have kept many out of the loop for too long (Haskell and Jones?). Newness has made it hard to settle (WLR and KB). WLR must have been playing pretty much non-stop now for well over a year. A tough ask.

We have mini teams of players that have to work well in certain plays. Scrums, mauls, lineouts, defensive line, kick receipt, and so on.

For example, scrum halves can only play well if the back row is working well in front of them and the 10 is tuned to them. Don't say Robson has a poor game, or doesn't start well. The mini team he is in isn't gelling well. For the Quins game, that was a mini team of:

Haskell, Young, Thompson, ROBSON and Gopperth.

There is talk that Ash will be back. Cipriani is now recovered. The fact is, Robson may well start, and he is best with Ash and Nathan (at least) in front of him and Cipriani outside him. So would that mini team be:

Johnson, Thompson, Hughes, ROBSON and Cipriani.

With maybe Jones (if he is fit again), Haskell and Simpson on the bench for that mini team?

The Front five pack mini team was clearly disrupted in the Quins game by Symons dropping out at the last minute. I can see this mini team being the same:

Mullan, Taylor, Swainston, Launchbury and Symons,

with the same bench support (less Cruse):

McIntyre, Cooper-Woolley and Myall

In the backs, whilst Kurtley Beale has done some good work at 12, he doesn't seem to gell with Daly outside him, nor with Wade cutting inside. But at 15 he has been great. So that's where I would put him. With him, Wade and WLR as the kick receiving mini team, we have looked very dangerous. Remember, Sarries do a lot of that.

So that's my 11, 14 and 15. And that leaves the centre backs, 12 and 13, and the bench for them.

In good conscience, I cannot leave Gopperth out. He has not done so well at 10, but at 12 he has been stellar. More importantly, he seems to be on the same wavelength as Daly, and in free play with WLR, KB and Wade. He is good in defence also.

The last two places on the bench? Leiua and who else? Miller or Bassett? Or Macken or .... ? I don't know.

3 points or more gets us a home semi final for sure. I can see Exeter walking their game against Glaws. Glaws fell apart last weekend, and they will be focussed on their European game, so will rest players. So Exeter have a home SF pretty much 'in the bag' (famous last words).

A big game to come. Let's hope that the Wasps that run out on to that pitch can step up and play as a team, and that means those mini teams need to work. Remember that when you are picking your fantasy team. Look at the mini teams and ask yourself if they will work.

Oh, and who for captain? I get no vote in that, but for me it has to be someone who will be firm but not too noisy with the ref. Too often I wonder if that is Joe, and I am not sure it is. Jimmy just seems to see the game and its flow. For me he is the right choice.

But, what do I know? Only what I see. But I do see a lot sitting up there in the stands, far more than can be seen watching on TV.

I ache for Wasps to win, truly I do. #COYW

We lost a game. We have not been on top form for a while. And when we were, it was not for a full game.

When you want to know why an organisation has gone awry look no further than the leadership.

The Wasps team that ran on to that pitch was filled with players capable of being a great team. But they were not a great team. And that is about leadership.

Saracens have Brad Barritt, a centre, as captain.
Exeter have Jack Yeandle, hooker, as captain.

Both are excellent, vocal leaders.

I have said this before to be slapped down, but Joe comes over as too nice and, when I watch from the stands, I don't see him conducting his orchestra of players. Very hard to see from TV coverage, as they don't watch the off-the-ball work, but I have been doing just that. Watching who actually appears to be doing the organising.

In one game I saw Gopperth, Beale, Robson AND WLR doing it. At one point in one game they actually appeared to be arguing, or at least having a heated discussion. But, in the main, it is Gopperth from 12 that is most effective.

For me, Gopperth is clearly the right character to have as a motivational captain. In all the years I have watched rugby, my feeling is that the right position for a captain to be in is somewhere between flanker and 12. You can't organise if you can't look up and see the play.

But Dai seems to want to keep the captain in the pack, and I do not understand this.

This is a change that requires no sackings. It uses the resources available far better. It would require that we sign JG for a longer term. Is he not worth that?

So, I would put Beale back to FB and WLR back to the wing, with Cips and JG at 10 and 12, for the Sarries game.

Haskell was, sadly, again mostly ineffectual. If he was supposed to contain Robshaw, he failed in that. Robshaw was just so destructive.

Defensively, Beale, WLR and Daly had poor games, and not much better in attack.

We just gave the ball away over and over again. Almost every kick came straight back at us.

I was disappointed. I know those players can do better than that.

A few days ago, the Wasps marketing machine put out a release saying that over 20k seats were gone (I don't like saying sold, as not all will have been paid for). I went on the ticketing site to take a look today (as I have been since they made that announcement). I know they hold some rows of seats back (and so they look sold, but aren't), but it now looks like there are about 1000 seats left in the entirety of West, North and East blocks, with many sections either fully sold out or with only a handful of seats. And, as the seats they hold back tend to be the upper rows, you can see that the seats in those rows have been released for sale, and many sold.

Not all of South Block has been released for sale. I reckon there are about 4000 seats maybe still to sell. I know the capacity is over 32000, so I assume that maybe 27,000 seats have now been 'sold'.

I truly hope that they have laid on a load more shuttle buses from the station, like they did for the Bath game, but more so, as I expect a lot of fans to come up by train.

We all know that Kurtley Beale has said he is returning to Oz so he can play in the 2019 WC (Sep to Nov 2019 in Japan).

But on Rugby Tonight last night he said he wants to come 'back' after that. By back he meant to Wasps. I doubt he would get anywhere near the money (probably not even marquee), but would we want him? In Oz, the Super Rugby season is Feb to August, so the WC falls in their closed season. He has signed with Waratahs for two years, to August 2019. Makes you wonder what has passed between him and Dai recently ...

Team injury news:

Nathan is 'hopeful' for Quins, but not certain.
Ash will be back for $orries
James Gaskell is back in full training, but no indication if he is ready for Quins.
Marty Moore and Rob Miller are not ready for Quins.

Dai suggests there may be one or two changes. Cips is now fully fit also. No mention of Jones.

This tweet https://twitter.com/WaspsRugby/status/856539817953419269 is interesting. It has a video, with 10 players training. Who are they (spot the players in the misty gloom):

Umaga
Beale
Wade
Gopperth
WLR
Simpson
Bassett
Robson
Daly
Cipriani

Did I get them right?