ZP Preview: Squeaky beware, Wasps are on a roll

PG, get thee behind
By Sparkie
February 28 2003

After a two week hiatus it is back to business for London Wasps. Our next visitors are the lowly but improving Newcastle Falcons. Two deserved wins on the bounce by the Budgies has thrown the gauntlet down to not-so-bargain-basement Bath with Bristol, Irish and Quins not out of the woods yet either.

London Wasps will have a big say in the relegation issue as we have to play four of these five candidates. We start with a revenge mission against the team that our former stand off Rob "Judas" Andrew built. Despite picking up the usual seven shades of purple and a knee injury in Cardiff, Jonny Wilkinson looks set to try and engineer the Budgies third straight win. If he doesn't play neither do the not-so-young fledglings.

Clive Woodward's latest England training picks have spiced up this encounter. Wasps provode no fewer than four players for the main squad with Lawrence Dallaglio, Joe Worsley, Simon Shaw and Josh Lewsey in the frame. Fraser Waters, Alex King and Martyn Wood all figure in the A squad. For Newcastle, Jamie Noon earns a well deserved call up to the full squad alongside Wilko with Hugh Vyvyan stepping into the As.

Warren Gatland approves of the change to the 6 Nations schedule this season. In previous seasons the stop-start nature of the tournament over alternate weekends did not lend itself to the club game. Team cohesion was difficult to maintain during the months of January to March while our international players were away and they would return with injuries and fatigue.

Players remaining at the club had little time to rest and recuperate themselves before the slog of league or cup football resumed. However, a seven-week cycle allows the players to tailor the time off to their needs allowing them to follow individual fitness programmes as well as doing team sessions. Some of the players may be sent to the cooler in Poland again for a quick top-up chill.

All-in-all, the new 6N format may be a blessing and help all the players last what is in effect two-seasons-in-one. The question Saturday's game begs is, will Wilko and Mark Andrews be fit to start. If they do, it is going to be a battle royale.

London Wasps: 15 Mark Van Gisbergen; 14 Josh Lewsey, 13 Fraser Waters, 12 Stuart Abbott, 11 John Rudd; 10 Alex King, 9 Rob Howley; 1 Craig Dowd, 2 Trevor Leota, 3 Will Green, 4 Simon Shaw, 5 Richard Birkett, 6 Joe Worsley, 7 Paul Volley, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio (Capt.)

16 Martyn Wood, 17 Phil Greening, 18 Kenny Logan, 19 Mark Denney, 20 Mark Lock, 21 Peter Scrivener, 22 Alistair McKenzie.

Newcastle: a squad of 26 has been named:

Botham, Shaw, Stephenson, May, Noon, Mayerhofler, Wilkinson M, Godman, Wilkinson J, Charlton, Grindal;

Hurter, Peel, Ward, Isaacson, Makin, Thompson, Andrews, Grimes, Hamilton, Vyvyan, Britz, Dunbar, Newby, Taione, Mower.