It is not even a year since Wasps moved to Coventry and only a relatively short time since they were on the brink of bankruptcy. Now, suddenly, they are being watched by the continent’s biggest club rugby crowd of the weekend and reviving memories of the golden era when no one could touch them in Europe. If Hollywood wants to shoot a rags-to-riches movie with a sporting theme, a ready-made script awaits.
The weekend’s 32-6 demolition of the three-times European champions Toulon was up there with some of the club’s finest results. Not since they saw off Perpignan 34-6 at the Stade Aimé Giral in a famous stampede in early 2004 and Leinster 35-13 in the 2006-07 quarter-final have such illustrious opposition been dispatched in such style. Given they thumped Leinster 33-6 in Dublin only eight days earlier, something special really does appear to be stirring.
If it is too early to get too carried away, Toulon can certainly vouch for the intensity of their hosts’ sting when they get it right.
Nathan Hughes at No8 will not be eligible to play for England until next June but an entire battalion of the world’s best back-row forwards – Steffon Armitage, Duane Vermeulen, Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, Juan Smith, Mamuka Gorgodze – were forced to eat his dust. The Wasps squad as a whole are unrecognisable and scattered among the shrewd overseas signings are an increasing number of England candidates.
Among them is the scrum-half Joe Simpson, a prime example of the talent at Premiership level available to the England coach, Eddie Jones, when he comes to sift his Six Nations options. The charge aimed at the nippy half-back in the past was that he did not always do the right things at the right time. These days he can do the lot: kick, distribute, recognise space, support his midfield runners, outpace defenders and generally do everything an international No9 should. The 27-year-old also has a renewed sense of purpose, his omission from Stuart Lancaster’s plans having sharpened his competitive instincts. As he put it: “I’d like to finish my career having had a proper international career, rather than a few appearances for England against the Barbarians and Georgia.”
It is the same with several of his team-mates. If an England squad were being picked today, then the names of Simpson, Joe Launchbury, James Haskell, Elliot Daly, Matt Mullan, Jake Cooper-Woolley and Christian Wade should all merit serious discussion. Dan Robson and Alex Lozowski also look potential full internationals at some stage while Ruaridh Jackson, at this rate, will shortly be back on Scotland’s radar. Simpson reckons the collective buzz, particularly among their pacy backs, is helping everyone.
“When you see some of the skills they come up with it gives the whole team more confidence. It also challenges me. Although we’ve got a great pack we are so dangerous out wide that my job is to really shift the ball.”
It is a tribute to Dai Young, his coaches and the Wasps owner, Derek Richardson, that Toulon’s high-profile side were made to look like traffic cones at times. Wasps have also yet to concede a try against two of the most successful sides in the tournament’s recent past.
So is this really the start of an English renaissance or are we just in a brief pocket of post-World Cup turbulence before the wealthy French sides resume smooth normal service in the New Year? With Ma’a Nonu having just arrived in France and Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell to come back, Toulon will have some decent reinforcements by the time Wasps travel to the south of France in mid-January. “I don’t think there’s a power shift,” Simpson said.
“Over the course of the season the pay structure gives French clubs more scope to rotate and, if there is an injury, to have another international in their squad to replace him. As the season goes on the French clubs may become slightly stronger but I’m immensely confident in the squad we’ve managed to build through Dai and Derek. Sam Jones and Kearnan Myall are two top-class players in my opinion and they’re not even in our starting line-up.”
Whatever the Christmas period brings, next month’s back-to-back European games against Bath should certainly rank high on Jones’s list of must-watch matches. Both sides play an up-tempo game which Simpson, for one, believes would fit the national team nicely. “We all believe we’ve got the ability to represent England and each of us individually believes we can bring something different to what is already there. I guess a new coach does give you a bit of positivity … Eddie once gave me a man of the match award when I was 19 playing for England Under-20s.
“But it depends what he wants. Personally I think rugby has evolved. Gone are the days when you play on muddy pitches. All the pitches now are immaculate and very fast tracks. You don’t really get a slow, sluggish international match. I believe there’s been a shift in the brand of rugby all teams are going to have to start playing. England most certainly have the talent to throw the ball around. Eddie has those players at his disposal and hopefully for me – because it would suit my game – the brand of rugby will be a speedy game.”
Jones will make up his own mind but Wasps’ method is working a treat.
GAP YEAR
On the subject of Jones, who officially takes over as England’s head coach on 1 December, his appointment has coincided with the best weekend for Premiership clubs in Europe for eight years. A total coincidence? Maybe not. Aside from the Wasps contingent, Kyle Eastmond and Henry Slade both impressed for Bath and Exeter respectively and Saracens’ Owen Farrell was excellent against Ulster on Friday night. How interesting, too, to see David Strettle scoring two stunning solo tries for Clermont against Ospreys.
There are perfectly good reasons why the Rugby Football Union’s ban on overseas-based players remains in place but there is no point hiding from the fact that a spell abroad has worked out spectacularly well for a number of English players. An inconvenient truth, perhaps, but the wider benefits (not just financial) for both players and coaches – as well as the restorative effect of the sabbatical that helped prolong Richie McCaw’s Test career – are there for all to see.
WORTH WATCHING
Leicester v Bath. With the Sam Burgess circus having left town, Bath are looking to put their early-season distractions behind them. This will be a genuine test of where they stand domestically, particularly if Leicester’s new openside Brendon O’Connor and Welsh fly-half Owen Williams continue their impressive form. The losers will find themselves outside the Premiership top four with just one more round to play before Christmas; with Wasps and Northampton on the up and the Six Nations also looming, this is a good time to be gathering some momentum.
