The Champions Cup meeting between Wasps and Connacht on Sunday promises a feast of tries. Both sides believe in flair play and Wasps will be bolstered by the presence of Kurtley Beale in the midfield, the Australian international’s first appearance for the club after recovering from a leg injury he sustained seven months ago.
A few years ago this fixture would have been in the Challenge Cup and attracted little attention. Wasps were struggling financially while Connacht, despite a few seasons in the European Cup by virtue of their league position, were regarded as the runt of the four Irish provinces and received less from central funds.
Now Connacht arrive in Coventry as Pro 12 champions and leaders of Pool 2 after victories over Toulouse and Zebre. Wasps are also unbeaten, following the ritual slaughter of the Italians by earning a draw in France inwhich they showed qualities they are not renowned for, doggedness and resilience, having learned from two semi-final defeats last season in the Champions Cup and the Premiership.
Beale, a versatile back who has appeared at full-back, centre, outside-half and on the wing for the Wallabies, starts at 12 against Connacht, the position occupied for most of the season by Jimmy Gopperth, whose late conversion of Nathan Hughes’s try earned Wasps the draw in Toulouse. He moves to outside-half because of Danny Cipriani’s absence with a calf strain. With Kyle Eastmond on the bench and the South Africa full-back Willie le Roux joining in the new year the club’s director of rugby, Dai Young, will find his selection meetings taking longer.
“Kurtley and Willie will add a lot to the team,” said Gopperth. “I am looking forward to seeing what they can do for the group and their presence will spur everyone on: we all want a place in the starting line‑up.
“We have made a good start to the season but the best is still to come and one of the highlights of our campaign for me was the victory at Worcester in the last round of the Premiership. We were without 18 first-team regulars. The result showed just how strong our squad is.”
Gopperth was the club’s regular outside-half last season, but the recruitment of Cipriani left him uncertain about his role. “I thought I would be fighting for the 10 jersey with Danny and perhaps rotating but we had a few injuries and I found myself playing at 12,” he said. “I was just happy to be playing but I have come to really enjoy it. There is a lot less pressure than at outside-half and more freedom: you do not have the stress of trying to run the team.
“Having another decision-maker outside him makes Danny’s job easier and as a New Zealander I grew used as a 10 to having someone outside me of a similar style. It means you can play a lot smarter and our communication is good so that we exploit the opportunities we see.
“I am just happy to be able to run around a bit more and look for space.”
Gopperth’s haul of 148 points in 11 matches this season includes five tries. His value to the team extends beyond his goal-kicking and he has helped provide a measure of control that Wasps needed after falling away at the end of last season, one they started with the ambition of finishing in the top six and qualifying for Europe only to find themselves on a trophy trail.
“We took a lot out of the two semi-finals we lost last season to Saracens and Exeter,” said Gopperth. “We surprised a number of people by doing so well and perhaps we surprised ourselves a bit because it was a season we were meant to be rebuilding. Making the last four in the Champions Cup and Europe came a bit sooner than expected and it was the first time some players had experienced that level of rugby.
“It is about learning from those experiences and pushing on and we showed in Toulouse in the last round that we are stronger. It was a game we could have lost and we had to dig in for the draw. You could see the belief in players at the end in what we are trying to achieve: knowing where you want to go is different from getting there. We are still improving and we have a strong squad.”
It is almost a year since Wasps last lost at home at a ground where children under 10 are admitted free. They have won the 15 games at the Ricoh since, all bar two by a double-figure margin with an average score of 41-15; Connacht’s only away win this season came at Zebre.
“It is a great stadium with a good playing surface and gives us a real chance of putting in a performance,” said Gopperth. “Every team wants to make their home a fortress.”
