ZP Preview: Time to tame the Tiggers

Win or bust?
By Sparkie
December 27 2002

Season's greetings, Waspies. Put aside your murmerings of miscontent until after the visit of the 4X champions, Leicester. Johno's boys are on the up again and looking for a rare away win. We must repeat our sensational 36-24 controlled squeeze of last April or the doom-mongers will be out in force.

Recently both Sale and Bath have left Adams Park with a win under their belt. If Tigers emulate them then we could be staring at a bleak midwinter. With a trip to champions elect, Gloucester coming up and a double-header against Stade Français to follow, Lawrence had better dust off his leadership credentials. His critics are lining up as I write...

LBND couldn't wish for a better stage to prove himself -- the match is our first sell-out in Wycombe. 10,200 or so will witness events, despite the presence of Pugwash and his Skew TV crew. What can they expect? For one thing, Sir Trev will give a demonstration of his ultra-legal, big tackle! For another, it will be hard for the teams to serve up as drab a game as the 9-6 squelch up at Welford Road.

Unfortunately Wasps still do not play effectively in moist conditions. After some nightmare handling last Saturday, no doubt Gats will have given the squad a hosing down on a skidpan during practice this week as part of their cough medication. Apart from that he will have had the small matter of correcting a myriad of other aberrations -- failure to protect ruck ball; not bossing our lineouts; not challenging for kick-offs/restarts (legally!); passing poorly under pressure; and not spreading our attacking line width-wise instead of doing an impression of a squeezebox. And that's just for starters.

The cameras never lie, or so it is said. LBND thinks our season hinges on these next four games and that is the brutal truth. We must look to score each time we get into the Tigers' 22. If we do so then we may just join the clutch of clubs that have tamed them this season.