It’s been a heck of a rollercoaster ride for Wasps fans over the last few years, and it would seem that the ride isn’t over yet. The fantastic wins against Stade Francais last season secured us a place in the new European Cup, and gave us hope that our team may finally be going some way towards hitting the potential everyone knew they had.
A close loss to Saracens did nothing to dispel those feelings, and the glorious win against the reigning Premiership champions Northampton Saints sealed the deal. Wasps were back. Our troubles were behind us, and we were finally settling into a run of form.
If only.
All week the internet has been full of rumours about Wasps abandoning their London roots and moving to Coventry. Understandably the fans are all somewhat aggrieved by this idea, but most of us were willing to wait and see until the club made an official announcement. Then came the Quins game.
We went into it on a roll, and Quins had done nothing but struggle. All we had to do was keep playing the way we had, and it would be a walk in the park. Of course it was no such thing. Quins were hurting after their drubbing, and they had a point to prove. They set out to bully us in every part of the game, and it worked a treat. We folded. We had a couple of moments of individual skill, but they had the momentum, and they got the result. As you would expect the boards were full of knowledgeable supporters explaining exactly where we went wrong, but I suspect the answer is pretty simple.
If we, the supporters, are feeling unsettled by the rumours and “leaks” coming out of the club imagine how the players must be feeling. Our hobby, the team we love and follow may be changing beyond recognition. It may be moving from the ground we love (or hate in some cases) to a new ground well almost eighty miles away. It is the thing that occupies our spare time, a thing we love. It is their livelihood, a thing that occupies every moment of every day. They are professional rugby players for a top level team. Some of them have moved here from the other side of the planet.
The next time you’re feeling fed up and disillusioned with the way the team is performing just take a moment to think how the players must be feeling.
Maybe one day it will all be resolved, we’ll have a nice venue we can actually get to, we’ll have a settled team that plays to its potential, and we’ll all be happy and proud to be Wasps, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.
Early SeasonFrustration
Posted by: DrunkenWasps.com (IP Logged)
Date: 23/09/2014 10:03
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Before the season started if you had said we would have 6 pts from the first 3 games i think we wd have been satisfied considering opposition. To think we cd have taken Sarries and Quins as well is like a dream start. Frustration and satisfaction in equal measures. The games against e.g. Falcons and Welsh are the ones we just have to win with some bonus pts too to separate from Sale, Chiefs etc in our pursuit of Europe.
Sorry to be argumentative but this is what a forum is all about ;-).
I don't think the ground situation would impacted on the players one jot this weekend. They, like us know that what is going to happen is going to happen. Not much we can do about it so get on with the job in hand.
IMO I just think we had a bad day at the office and as you will have seen on another thread a lack of composure on the ball.
When there is something to worry about on the ground front I'll worry. Not to say that I won't tell the club up front that a move to the midlands would be madness.
I think you underestimate the way the players feel. There was a lot of talk from the players about how awesome the atmosphere was when the fans were behind the club 100% at the saints game. I think when the supporters are unsettled that affects the players. They might not care where the "home" ground is (I think they do) but they care whether people care.
I think we saw what happens when you play your hearts out in a ridiculously physical encounter, and then get a 6 day turnaround to face a side that's just been badly stung and want to come out all guns blazing for revenge.
I don't think as a team we're particularly far behind Quins (if at all), but if there was going to be a week when we didn't play as well as we could, and they were going to fight tooth and nail, this was going to be it. Much like Leicester may well come out with fire in their bellies next week.
i am convinced that we will beat them at ours (or any neutral venue) when we play them again....i hope i am not being too optimistic in saying that we should finish above them in the league
I was at the game and really don't agree with the OP's view of us folding. I thought we were comfortable in the first half and well worth our lead. Then we had a poor 10-15 mins when Quins threw everything at us and where we made errors, but Quins also had good fortune. Unfortunately they build a lead that even when we re-asserted ourselves we couldn't quite over turn. I think we'd have won with another 5-10 mins. So for me it was simply a poor and costly 10 mins in a very tight league rather than being bullied and folding.
I think that when you compare us to the performances of the last few years then yes, we looked about as comfortable as we ever have. But when you compare us to the way we played against Saints. When you look at what we are capable of, we clearly didn't.
Our defence looked stretched, and when Quins had a good 15 minutes in the second half it was too much for us.
The fact is that if we accept performances that are below what we are capable of, and claim that they are ok then we are never going to improve or play at a higher level. The way we played last week shows what we can do. Why settle for anything else?
Well I guess that's one of Dai's themes at the moment, wanting us to maintain that quality in every game, all game. What I was getting at is that I think we were probably the better side for most of the game but imploded for 10 mins. I thought at half time that we were handling what Quins threw at us and could push on, but rugby's often about momentum and they gained it for a crucial period. The 80 minute thing has been a problem for several seasons and it's often been poor starts. I think the trajectory is still upwards, but we need to prove it on Sunday.
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