It is a measure of how far Wasps have progressed this season that their first reaction to Sunday’s 28-6 victory at home to play-off regulars Northampton, and a first Premiership double over the Saints for 11 years, was one of disappointment at the scrappy nature of their performance.
Wasps’ ambition at the start of the season was to finish in the top six and qualify for Europe – something they achieved with the success against Northampton – but one win in their final three league matches will guarantee a slot in the play-offs and they are battling on two fronts, with home advantage over Exeter in Saturday’s European Champions Cup quarter-final.
Wasps were the last English club to win the Heineken Cup, back in 2007. It was a decade in which they won eight major trophies but, since taking the Premiership crown in 2008, they have until this season struggled, even flirting with relegation four years ago. The move to Coventry at the end of 2014 has transformed the club’s finances, with a crowd of more than 24,000 expected for the clash against the Chiefs.
“Finishing in the top six has always been our goal and now we have achieved that, we can enjoy the final few weeks of the season,” said the fly-half Jimmy Gopperth, who joined last summer from Leinster after a stint with Newcastle. “We have made good progress this year [one defeat in their last 11 matches] and the arrival of players like George Smith, Charles Piutau and Siale Piutau has made a difference.
“Having quality like that has helped the young players and the competition for places here now is stiff. We push each other to get better and confidence in the group is high. We had a tough opening few weeks in the season, but we started well in Europe and kicked on from there. We know there is still a long way to go and we have some tough games coming up, starting with Exeter, but I do not think the pressure will get to us. We will continue to play with freedom and express ourselves.”
Gopperth has played his part in Wasps’ rise. The New Zealander was signed to replace Andy Goode and has scored 224 points in all competitions, including four tries, igniting a potent back division that contains Christian Wade, Elliot Daly and Frank Halai as well as the Piutau brothers.
“The coaches give us a licence to play and one of the reasons we were a bit disappointed with the Northampton game was that a lot of our play was scrappy, but you are not going to win pretty all the time,” said Gopperth. “There are games when you have to dig out victories, such as Newcastle in February at the Ricoh in horrendous conditions, and perhaps in past seasons we would not have done so.”
Wasps could face Exeter three times in the next five weeks: there is a Premiership game at Sandy Park coming up on 1 May and if the two clubs remain second and third in the league table then they will face each other in the play-off semi-final. The Chiefs won in Coventry resoundingly last December, 41-27.
“I think they scored five tries from driving lineouts that day,” said Gopperth. “They played well, but we have come on since then. It will be a big test for us to see exactly how far we have progressed. We have an opportunity to get to a European Cup semi-final, but we know we are up against a very good side who are not second in the Premiership for nothing.”
Gopperth has another year to go on his contract but next season he will be facing competition for his place from Danny Cipriani. “As a player you want to be pushed for your place and no one here can take anything for granted,” he said. “We all have to prove ourselves.”
