Always a Wasp

It?s commercial suicide if Championship sides reject Wasps? return
Rival clubs? disgraceful attitude would also keep Worcester Warriors and London Irish out of new Tier 2

Stephen Jones
Sunday April 14 2024, 12.01am, The Sunday Times


Do the clubs of the second-tier Championship have the vision to succeed in a full-blown league; and is rugby?s treasured spirit and sense of harmony now dead and buried?

The questions must be asked as we reveal that representatives of the Championship clubs in discussion with the RFU about reviving the division have told the RFU that they will not countenance the appearance of Wasps in the league ? and, while it is not their brief or right to dictate who the competitors are, they have also rejected the idea that Worcester Warriors or London Irish could take part, if they also return.

It should be said that this is by no means the view of all. One club owner told us on Saturday that he ?wants no part? of excluding the three famous clubs.

The attitude of the others is not only a disgrace, and pathetic, but also commercial suicide. If this is the kind of attitude that Championship clubs are bringing with them, then they really should not bother to enter.

Recently Christopher Holland, the new owner of the new Wasps, reported that he had concluded his takeover of the club, that the old regime had gone and that he and his backers were now confident they could revive the club, and also fulfil their legal commitments to repay their rugby creditors from the collapsed old operation.

Calls from what may be called the usual suspects on social media that Wasps should pay every debt incurred by their former owners ? something that would never be required in business ? are discounted by the RFU.

For me, the Wasps team who won the European Cup after a staggering run of tough matches and a remarkable final at Twickenham against Toulouse remain the best team I have seen in Europe. They would bring a new venue: they have been successful in identifying a site in Swanley, near Sevenoaks.

Holland last week recalled the scenes when the administrator called all the players together to say that the club were ceasing operations: ?I looked at Joe Launchbury, who was clearly in tears, then I noticed the two Willis brothers, Jack and Tom, also in tears and hugging each other. It was a devastating time.? It also typified the enduring spirit of the club.

Consider the advantages for the rest of the Premiership. The journalist Gary Fitzgerald estimates that no fewer than 35 players brought through by Wasps are now out there in the Premiership and elsewhere, playing professional rugby. There are four former Wasps coaches operating in the Premiership.

Yet it is also relevant here to point out that rugby is no longer the sport it once was. In past eras, there would have been great sympathy for stricken clubs, and a communal mourning.

Now, the jealousy aimed at clubs such as Wasps and Saracens by keyboard warriors ? usually supporters of clubs who could never compete with them ? is full of bile and abuse.

Wasps would galvanise any division; their class and the rivalries they would draw, together with the support that they have ? did anyone see the whirlwind of reaction from their fans when the club died? ? would float a good part of the new event by itself.

Conor O?Shea, the RFU executive director of performance rugby, has said there are no plans to exclude Wasps from a revamped second tier, saying: ?As the process for clubs to be part of Tier 2 moves forward, there may be opportunities for other clubs that could include Wasps, London Irish and Worcester Warriors to be considered with eligibility based on sound business and financial plans as well as the meeting of minimum standards and any payment outstanding to rugby creditors. The fan bases and commercial appeal of these clubs will be of value to a sustainable Tier 2.?

I foresee a gradual decline for Saracens over the next 4-5 years.

Just seen Benny Jacobs working for Williams F1 team on Sky!

Magnificent [just watching it after a night at the opera!] victory.
How they dealt with the French power, how sharp they were with turnover ball.
Epic.

Give them all a big breakfast and send them out to play the full French side. The French U20 team had c 250 games of Top 14 experience, and Tuilagi has played 3 games for the full French team. The English guys had c 20 games in the Premiership, with the ex-Wasp loose head having 8 of them.

The second row and back row were unbelievable. Michelow [sounds a bit French to me] at No8 was extraordinary - another Sarries 8.

The Toulouse 15 made some impressive defensive moves on the Duhan

Baldpaul, I am not talking about drivability. I am talking about stress on the drivetrain, and about fuel efficiency and pollution. The vehicles are optimised for A road and Dual carriageway usage, not urban crawls. My electric car is fine at 20 mph, but my petrol and diesel vehicles less so. If you make a vehicle efficient at one thing, you will have compromised on another. Safety is the obvious example. You are much safer in a modern car, but it weighs a lot more as a consequence, and therefore it burns a lot more fuel and creates more pollutants.

There were 5 road fatalities per billion vehicle miles travelled in 2022 in the UK.

Of these, 385 were pedestrians [out of 1711 total deaths]. There were 5901 seriously injured pedestrians in addition.

The cost to society of reducing the speeds to 20 mph - more pollution in urban areas directly from emissions and indirectly from tyres and brakes, cost in fuel, engine strain etc - has to be weighed against this.

IMO roads are for vehicles, and pedestrians need to take considerable care when crossing them, sticking mostly to designated crossings and not walking with earphones or using phones.