Who would have believed it? - Wasps Preview

By BrianC
April 28 2006

Only two GP games to go and we find ourselves fourth in the table with a place in next seasons Heineken Cup already secured. Who would have believed it?

Our next game is yet another top of the table clash. On Sunday we take on Wasps at the Causeway stadium. The game has been switched to a 6pm kick off to accommodate Sky TV. Whilst we may moan about the inconvenience of this kick off time it is good to see that we are at last getting some decent coverage. I cannot remember the last time, if ever, we played in televised games on two consecutive weekends.

Wasps have performed well on the home front this season. Their lofty place in the table testifies to this. Along the way they beat us 19 - 35 in our big New Years eve game at the Madejski. Less satisfying for them was their Heineken Cup campaign. Here they went out in the pool stages winning only two and drawing one of their six games.

As the season nears its end every team at the top appears to be suffering the effects of fatigue and injuries. This certainly seems the case with both teams lining up on Sunday. Recent performances, win or lose, have come in for criticism. Perhaps, as has also been noted, this is down to increased levels of expectation.

Wasps will be looking to bounce back from two recent defeats. Last weeks one point loss at Welford road, a ground where they have never won in the league, was not wholly unexpected. Going down to Saracens the previous week came as something more of a shock. We have had three narrow wins, away at Worcester and at home to Leeds in the league and, of course, away at Newcastle in the ECC last week.

Wasps have won the last eight encounters between our two sides. Given this and home advantage the bookies will probably have Wasps as favourites going into this game but there won’t be much in it. HC qualification is already in the bag for both teams. Sale look to be out of reach in first place so both teams can go into this game in a pretty relaxed frame of mind. In the great plan of things this is not the highest stakes game of the season. Hopefully this will show itself in an open and entertaining game.

Whilst I’d like it to end with an Irish victory I for one am not going to be too disappointed if it doesn’t.