Wasps - halfway house

Ok, with eleven games completed - Wasps sit in sixth on equal points as Sale, same wins and losses but with a better points difference. So all to play for with Sale next up. In essence over the next eleven league games Wasps need to again to beat some of the top six teams but this time around back it up with wins against teams they should beat - that is there is a need for greater consistency.

Now the good news is the long needed performance consistency appears to be in place. It is now also possible to define Wasps through their playing style. We saw during the London Irish match added to the usual smash up from the back row some pull back passes to second wave runners, Christian Wade in particular being very effective and willing to take on this unselfish role and link well with the likes of Masi, Miller, Jacobs, Daly etc who in turn have all straightened the line well to provide the wingers options. The result has been at least 3 tries directly scored in the Irish and Gloucester games. This should not be underestimated as Wasps have very seldom scored tries through creative play over the last 3 to 4 seasons - usually from counter attack, individual brilliance or line out drive.

This second wave running option is essential to any further progress up the league. Talk of this player or that player coming in to strengthen the squad is pretty much irrelevant if the playing pattern is not clear and strong. However Wasps also need to develop much more in the contact area to compliment this extra attacking threat. All our opponents will and are targeting knocking over our big back row runners at source to prevent quick ball. Against Irish, Irish achieved this however stepped over the mark and conceded soft penalties, some fair some not. Equally against Gloucester a Haskell midfield bust followed by quick ball led to a try for Wade. Against Gloucester we saw little else and were in the end quite fortunate that Gloucester still seem unclear about their best playing combinations. Against the top sides and indeed the likes of Sale and Quins the main contenders as we stand, Wasps need to do more.

So whilst continuing with the ball carriers and second wave running patterns Wasps need to be offsetting or offloading before contact to free up the ball more quickly. The rub for Wasps will be getting the selection balance right in the back row. Although the power available through Johnson, Hughes and Haskell is very shall we say "comfort zone" it is not really helpful in terms of support play, which is required against the better teams. If Johnson were to move to hooker as reported then this move would permit Haskell to play 6 with the chance to play a 7 with better running lines and support play - Jones or Thompson.

Nevertheless even without these changes a top six finish is a realistic goal for this season. The next fixture against Sale will be difficult as they are an outstanding team and offer more threat than most. Wasps have had an exceptional start to the season, should really be 4pts further on after beating both Bath and Northampton, however with a win v Sale everything will still be on course for a top six finish. Lose and it will be a scrap to the final game of the season.

Wasps Mid Season Progress

As we approach the midway point in season 2014/15 Wasps sit 7th in the league and 3 rd in the ECC. Some head turning winning results against Bath and Northampton and impressive back to back wins against Castres in the ECC.

Progress in the ECC, assuming Castres only focus on the Top 14 and concede 5 pointers to Quins and Leinster, will depend solely on Wasps beating Quins (away) in round 5. Otherwise the home match with Leinster in round 6 will be, from Wasps perspective, be a dead rubber. Winning/Losing Bonus points may provide some mathematical hope however realistically a defeat against Quins will end this years campaign.

This leads into the League performance and as with Europe the performance to date looks varied, however we are now starting to see from Wasps a game plan emerging, playing to the same principles every week. Results, performances may vary from week to week with supporters often remarking we could have won that one and indeed this is mostly the case. But the structure each week is mostly the same. Wasps rely heavily, almost solely on the back row of Johnson, Hughes and Haskell to provide front foot ball. If these players achieve this the back line functions much better and Wasps have pace and the players to exploit opportunities and indeed often make something out of nothing.

Defence is basically solid against teams with straight line runners, we struggle defending in the wide channels, nothing or little to do with the wingers, more so the back row and narrow structure.

If the first choice back row fail to provide the go forward when the forward battle is even, they can go missing and then Wasps seem devoid of other options to open up the opposition defence other than line out drive, counter attack and individual brilliance. The game plan is far too simple and relies heavily on the back row carrying effectively. The back line approach needs to provide greater variety and contribute more wide channel go forward options with deeper second wave runners and pull back passing. Currently the structure to do this does not exist. 

This would result in getting the ball into the wide channels more often but equally would not suit the make up of the current first choice back row. Wasps need to make the next step if they are to maximise the potential within the squad and look to balance the forward and backs selection to provide go forward options across the park. We will remain a mid table team unless adjustments are made to the current game plan. Joe Launchbury does compensate for the lack of back row support in the wider channels, however even with a fit Joe Launchbury in place Wasps backs do not offer enough variety to stretch defences. In a nutshell the Wasps game plan relies on making holes in the midfield channels and for good quality teams is easy to defend.

The next game against London Irish at the Ricoh is very interesting as it offers a different challenge in terms of mind set for the first time this season. Wasps upset the apple cart in the second week of the Premiership with an outstanding unexpected win against Northampton. Very much a defensive effort, but most importantly it was in a "we are the underdog" scenario. Then we move onto Bath and here the Ricoh affect played its part. Wasps were very much underdog again but the Ricoh announcement pulled the players very closely together. Wasps play best in adversity has been a very apt description of the characterics of Wasps over several generations and the Bath game was another example. Equally in this game against Bath unexpectantly the scrum provided extra go forward to enhance the key aspect of the Wasps game plan. The London Irish game will also involve a large emotional element but this time Wasps will not be underdogs, Wasps will be hot favourites and have the burden of expection to deal with. In the world of managers playing mind games I would think London Irish have been handed game motivation on a plate, served with an expensive chilled wine and all for free. This is what Wasps need to prepare to deal with. The expectation is the Wasps pack will dominate, provide the go forward and win. However should that desire to succeed in the first game at the Ricoh become too great and London Irish are able to hold out for 20 to 30 mins, doubts and desperation may well play a part. The first quarter of this game will be very influencial and most likely determine the end result.

Wasps have assembled an outstanding squad of players which have achieved some outstanding results to date. It is only a lack of consistency of performance that places us outside the top four. Whilst certainly the Northampton game could have gone the other way, equally Saracens, Quins and Sale were games there for the taking. Consistency can only be achieved by developing the game plan as I believe the inconsistency in performance is coming from the limited, one diamensional game plan and back play. If Wasps continue to rely solely on go forward from the back row and attacking the midfield channels Wasps will remain a mid table team. Highlights here and there and low points here and there but overall a mid table, nearly team outcome. 

I would think any Wasps fan would agree the Rollercoster performances/results have been very much a familar chacteristic of Wasps for some time now. So unless developments are made to the Wasps back play attack and integrated into the overall team strategy I would think we will continue to see the performance inconsistency from week to week. Some strong performances/results, some not so strong performances/results. Nonetheless this could end with a top six finish, however with the quality now within the squad the target should really be top 4 and group qualification in the ECC as a minimum. Having seen what we have so far this season, Wasps and others, for me this is now not an unrealistic expectation. New recruits will not improve the outcome as Wasps already have a squad capable of winning throphies.

Wasps - Ricoh Stadium - "Coventry or Die"

Difficult to know where to start, but suppose it best to pin my colours to the mast. I will not support the move to the Ricoh Stadium simply because I think it is wrong in principle to move any sports Clubs from the historical base and heartland. In the case of Wasps this move has been presented and justified as a "do or die" or "Coventry or Die" scenario and as being the only option. Well on both counts this simply is not the case.

Looking back, when did the troubles begin? The first stage was the refusal of Wycombe Council to grant the " Booker" project permission to proceed. Steve Hayes was angered by this and having invested and supported Wasps heavily over several years with this project as a long term objective all bets were now off. Steve introduced more cuts backs with the operation of Wasps and at the same time sought another buyer, he wanted out. 

Another buyer was found in the Barnet FC owner, name escapes me, however for whatever reason he dropped out just before completion, again around, February 2012. This further angered Steve Hayes and the cut backs increased to the point of Steve all but ceasing funding Wasps any longer. The process of running the Club based on revenue received had effectively begun. This led to issues with cash flow, payment of creditors and finally wage bills. The only cash potential Wasps had was via the P Shares which were viewed as the "Crown Jewels". Currently worth some 5m.

In April 2012 a meeting was held, organised by Ivor Montlake and Chaired by Mark Rigby. It was not a formal minuted company based meeting, it involved highly qualified individuals from various professions brought together under an umbrella of commonality which was Wasps. Mostly members of the Wasps FC from the past and present also some past players who were now heavily involved in business in the city of London. I was also in attendance, no others from the RFC were present.

Also attending this meeting were representatives of 2 multi national, worldwide based companies who had previously registered interest and started offer transactions with Steve Hayes before the Barnet FC was  chosen as the preferred bidder. Wasps had no money, no assets apart from P shares but did have a positive brand name. The aim to build a stadium within the region was the main attraction to these investors.

The meeting focussed on how to pay the forthcoming May 2012 wage bill. This was resolved short term, however looking longer term it was made clear by all it would take some 5 months to search and locate further investment interest from the City and indeed for those investors present to reignite their businesses to formulate another offer. I should say at this point that those potential investors that were present knew full well about the state of the Wasps financial position as they had already undergone the early stages of the due diligence process. Equally the likely costs to fund Wasps over a period of 5, 6 years to find a site and build a stadium were well know and not regarded at this stage as a negative. The Wasps brand name was still very strong and desired.

The other issue needing resolution was taking over ownership from Steve Hayes. Many options were discussed and presented to Steve, these eventually resulted in a club announcement that a Consortium headed up by Ken Moss, who was also present at the meeting, were to take over ownership of Wasps. This however was mostly smoke and mirrors to enable funds from outside the club to be provided on a loan basis in order to pay wage bills, with the "Crown Jewels" as a last resort fall back option. It was indeed seat of the pants time.

Now from this point onwards, April 2012, events become very unclear. All I do know is that further investors were being sought and I have to assume this led to the current position. The cash flow from May to September, the 5 month period, was limited but did cover immediate costs. David Thorne appeared on the scene in August 2012 as CEO/Owner (all very unclear) and then in November 2012 another significant event occurred. Nick Eastwood, who had been runner up for the England CEO role, arrived. A man of huge ability and experience taking on a role of CEO at Wasps, which was to all intent and purpose still a basket case. Why ? Had Wasps finally cracked it and had Nick been brought in to sort the club and take the stadium project forward ?

Well admittedly it is assumption, but I think we can today see the answer. During this 5 month period from May to Sept 2012 I presume Derek Richardson was also unearthed being a colleague of David Thorne and options regarding the Ricoh Stadium were presented to the Wasps board, which at that time effectively would be Ivor Montlake and Mark Rigby. The DR/DT option was chosen, the initial action being to recruit a CEO, Nick Eastwood, in order to deliver the project. 

Now the ins and outs of all this activity is unclear, however the Club also reported others investors were in tow as early as Feb 2012. They also stated that a move out of region would not be considered. To me any plan that countenanced a move out of region was not an option. Other options regarding stadiums within region would have been difficult, painstaking, long winded, costly and has to be said could potentially be unfulfilled. However I do believe other options were on the table from May 2012 but the Ricoh offered a quick fix. That does not mean the option chosen was not the best or not better. Only time will tell us the answer that question.

But for me when people justifiy this action as it was " Coventry or Die" or " It was the only option" I simply do not believe that was the case. So was Nick lying ? No, because when he took over it was the only option, it had already been decided by the Wasps board which way to proceed. That's why he was attracted and he was brought in. I watched the video of the Fans Forum and noted with interest how Nick started to distance himself from the "Coventry or Die" strap line, crediting it, if that's the correct phrase, to one of the supporters. I think he knows it was not the case.

However, the deal is now done the initial project completed. I do sincerely hope it does well. I, as I have said already, I cannot support it on principle and indeed as things progress there certain aspects I find very distasteful and to my mind not in line with rugby values which I most cherish. I feel particularly aggrieved that the RFU/PRL have sanctioned/approved this move and hope that Wasps have not taken on too much of a challenge or too much debt.

Was this the best deal for Wasps? Only time will tell. Were there other options ? Most certainly. Why was this option chosen? Again how can we assess this process with so little information. In the fans forum video, some 1hr 40mins, I think only two questions were asked about the business structure.

With regard to the financial set up of Wasps we simply do not know any or hardly any of the details. What we do know is Wasps RFC are the trading company,  have bought the leasehold, most likely pay rent to CCC on the freehold, own 50% or 100% of ACL the operating company. Wasps are 100% owned by Canmango Ltd a holding Company registered in London, largest shareholder David Thorne. Canmango Ltd are 100% owned by Moonstone Ltd who shares are 100% owned by MGI Fiduciary Services in which Derek Richardson is the primary shareholder. Both Moonstone Ltd and MGI are Malta registered companies, so quite difficult to establish details.The funding for the purchase will have come down from these Companies and will be presented as loans in the Wasps accounts.

Ricoh - The Final 50%

It has been reported today that the Alan Edward Higgs Charity (AEHC) will decide this week on the two bids they have received from Wasps RFC and CCFC (SISU) in relation to the 50% shareholding they currently hold in Arena Coventry Limited (ACL) and whether to accept or reject one or both bids. This may or may not be true, however one would assume all the necessary requirements would be in place and easily available in order to make this decision. The Wasps RFC bid is unconditional whilst the SISU bid is conditional reportedly based on information relating to the ongoing Judicial Review.

Should Wasps RFC secure the 50% they would have a 100% shareholding in ACL. If SISU are successful then they and Wasps RFC would hold 50% each. One can present a case of which would be the better outcome and often this would be based on which club you support, however from a purely business, commercial assessment a joint holding of 50% each would appear to be the stronger option in terms of increased revenue and profit in the medium to long term for ACL. This is based on the fact that should SISU fail with their conditional bid it is hard to see a future for CCFC as purely tenants, hence the crowd size and income this generates for ACL would be significantly reduced. Two factors would change this. One Wasps RFC develop an average gate size of around 15k and significantly improve the performance of ACL. Two SISU sell up CCFC to a new ownership and they can turn the club around progressing up the league and more significantly restore the average attendance to around 15 to 20k.

Now whilst all this is of some interest it is mostly irrelevant to AEHC and how they will make their decision. It will be the board of AEHC who will make the decision as to what to do with their 50% shareholding in ACL, despite the other shareholder, Wasps RFC, having the ability to block or accept any deal. Only the AEHC board can give approval to any offer. Any decision the AEHC board make will be based on commercial criteria in the best the best interests of the Children's  Charity. They have 3 options - 

1) Accept the SISU offer, which if Wasps RFC blocked  - then move to 2) or 3).

2) Reject the SISU offer and accept the Wasps RFC offer

3) Reject both offers

Whilst we do not know the details of any of the bids, the SISU offer is conditional and may well not be acceptable commercially on the basis as it could lead to further court action and incur further costs. In any event Wasps RFC could block this deal. Accepting the Wasps RFC unconditional offer would be a straight forward option, supposing both offers from SISU and Wasps RFC are roughly similar. However the AEHC must act in the best interests of the Charity, nothing else. Whilst the Coventry City Council (CCC) deal with Wasps RFC had a strong degree of political influence about it, this decision will be commercially centred. Now option 3) for the AEHC board would on the face of it present the best commercial gain, that is without knowing the full details of the bids to date.

Already with the Wasps RFC and CCC deal done the value, revenues, profits of ACL has already increased, simply by increasing the usage and profile of the Stadium. The AEHC 50% shareholding is now worth significantly more than 30 days ago. So both offers submitted should reflect this, if not they may well be rejected. The lawyers and accountants will be viewing the business plan projected figures submitted by Wasps, unless the offers submitted reflect the projected improved performance in ACL with Wasps RFC now in place, the AEHC board will be duty bound to reject both offers and stay, in the best interests of the Charity, as joint owners of ACL. They are not duty bound to sell. It will be the lawyers and accountants who prepare and present the criteria on each of the options, it will not be based on sentiment, polical pressure or preference. It will be based on the financial facts relating to the long term interests of the Charity. Simply the amount Wasps RFC paid CCC for their 50% shareholding will have increased in value, hence the bids on the table should be more, otherwise the AEHC board would not be fulfilling their duty the the Charity.

Having said all this, the most likely chain of events which has brought us to this point is that initially Wasps RFC approached the Council and most likely AEHC at the same time, showed an interest and negotiated an offer to buy both shareholdings of ACL. It was only when a covenant was discovered requiring first option sale must go to CCFC that things changed. However the initial figures scrutinised by the AEHC board have now significantly changed due to the deals not being completed simultaneously.

My preference is for Wasps RFC and CCFC (SISU) to share the spoils and get on and make it work. It is after all a sports stadium and with two clubs progressing and successful that can only be good for everyone. We shall see how it all unfolds, hopefully this week.

Coventry - right or wrong ?

KNo matter what anyone thinks Wasps are moving to the Ricoh Stadium lock, stock and barrel. This move will be completed in about 18 months when training facilities are ready. Then Wasps will be a Coventry based Rugby Club. 

Now Wasps have moved several times during the professional era but never had their own stadium. Here I should show my colours. Moving within region, and by region I mean designated Academy region, I have no issue, however moving outside of region i fundamentally disagree with. There is no regulation with Community development programmes and here lies the problem. Currently any team can up sticks and move. Their is no governance and we therefore must draw the conclusion the PRL/RFU by their desire with lack of control support this action.

We must also accept that employees will publically at least support any move. We will not find out until much later what they really feel when they have to move their families, change schools, stay farewell to friends etc when the training ground shifts. This scenario will come much quicker, immediately, for community development employees and some office staff. Rugby players have short careers and they are mostly concerned with being involved in a successful, supportive environment and of course one that can pay the wages.

The club management have described the clubs position as a "live or die" situation. Suggesting that between these two extreme positions there are no other options. Well the "die" scenario is certainly not true. The Wasps name will live on whatever albeit for some supporters, which I fully understand, have only known and are interested in the professional arm of the club. So although "die" is an inaccurate description it also fails to offer the many options between the two extremes. The movement down the leagues (which would occur) could be done in a controlled manner, eventually finding a level where the business is sustainable - fully, semi, part professional or completely amatuer. Maybe not very palatable for many, but it is an option many others have taken. Another possible option sit with the RFU which could step in a take over control of a club which they most likely regret not doing back in 1995 where they were advocating setting up 4 professional regions. This position supported by the likes of Lawrence Dallaglio at the time. Things have now moved on, however, I think if England could take control of 4 regionally based clubs now they would, let's say, consider it. The fact of the matter is the rugby business model after 18 years of development does not make money, the support at the turnstiles is not there. Only some models cover costs.

The model Wasps have followed has been the least productive model on the balance sheet. However it is not dissimilar to the successful ones, only the balance sheet, accounts present it in a different way. We must be hugely appreciative and grateful to the owners contributions over the years. Each have been trying to establish a structure by which the club can stand on its own two feet. Effectively they have been transferring funds from their existing business activities via their own personal wealth into Wasps accounts by way of loans and guarantees. The successful model simply creates a business directly connected with the club. Most often this is via ownership of a stadium and now in our case via ownership of the management of a stadium. The successful models presented by PRL would be Leicester, Gloucester, Exeter, Northampton and Harlequins. These make small profits based on their large support bases and stadium corporate business returns. Not sure about Saracens and Newcastle but both own stadiums but support bases are smaller and result in losses, I think. 

Wasps move to The Ricoh Stadium is different from all these models, more similar to Saracens but unlike that of Leicester, Gloucester etc. It looks like, smells like, works like, branded as and is primarily a football stadium, the home of Coventry City FC. It is not a Rugby Stadium in the fashion of Northampton, Quins etc. We will receive income from the running of this Stadium, as yet the figures are unclear as there is still 50% of the ownership to be resolved. However Wasps could have simply taken control of the running of the Stadium been supported by the revenues of the Stadium and remained at Adams Park or decided to play "big games" only at the Ricoh, Twickenham being too big with about 45,000 required to break even. They could have bought or been bought by a business anywhere in the country, the world and remained at Adams Park, similar to Saracens. The gamble for Wasps is by moving the playing venue this will significantly improve the current Stadium business model, improve revenues generated by the stadium and generate a much larger support base. It needs to at least double the current support base. This is very unlikely with some of the most heavily supported clubs in the close vicinity. However it is extremely likely the move will improve existing returns from the Studium use. But for this to make Wasps profitable we need to know what percentage will go to Wasps? It seems to me and I would suggest also the Club management, as they have already indicated, CCFC will get a better deal than we get at Adams Park and want to help them progress towards the Premiership !!!!  Further to that CCFC could also end up as joint owners with a 50% stake. Whatever happens the important issue will be to increase the Football revenues and increase Football attendances. We are moving into Football Stadium first, none of the other Rugby business models have this.

If we remained at Adams Park we would have to continue paying rent and only get 15p from every £ spent. What the profit margin is on that £ spent is unclear - 40p ? -  said like this 15p doesn't sound so bad. What will be the return on every £ spent at the Ricoh - well I would estimate 20p with a 50% stake. I don't know, would be good to know. Of course we would stay in our region, maintain all the partnerships and our support. It would mean we would not generate so much profit but it would provide time to continue to look for another venue. A better venue, a bigger venue than Adams Park. Saracens are supported by a business from afar and have done just this. Derek Richardson has driven this process and shown fantastic support for the club. However it is our CEO ( throw the eggs at me) and Board who make these decisions. Has this scenario even been considered ? Why have we decided to leave our historic homeland, buy and move into a Stadium that is quite clearly the home of the football club from that city. Other options did/do exist, it is simply not a case of "live or die". Only comes close if Derek Richardson has presented the Club with a "do this or I am off" position and hence has ruled any other options out. We would then go into administration and need to deal with the options as they present themselves. Nobody really knows what this would be. It would of course be painful.  Equally it could present opportunities that before have not been considered. We simply do not know. Mark Rigby stated 3 years ago that moving the club outside of its heartland region was "God forbid" not a option to be considered. Earliest links are reported in newspapers go back to August 2012. So this is not a sudden development.

Moving outside our region to me is not an option to be considered for Wasps or any rugby club. Every supporter will make their own mind up about how they feel. Not a problem.

For me rugby, sport is about working together and dealing with problems as they arise, working hard to develop. The success on the field is the goal, achieved collectively. Individually all then benefit. The greatest fulfilment for players, coaches and supporters is felt by achieving success in the face of adversity, as we most likely saw on Sunday v Bath. It is not about, should not be about which clubs have the most money and can attract the best players and hence win everything. This success for me is hollow. Rugby needs to maintain as far as possible a level playing field and this is very much the role of the PRL and RFU. PRL officials commented several years back about how I would feel about Wasps being the first franchised club. The PRL and RFU have been very quiet since the announcement was made. Clearly they want all clubs to be sustainable in order to grow their product and provide security for employees. However they also need to protect the integrity of the game, it is that that makes the game for most/many. Simply for me this is a step too far, goes against the basic principles of sport and indeed rugby.

England World Cup Chances - The Biggest Threat.

As the Autumn Internationals approach Englands final push, preparations for the World Cup are under serious threat from the ever increasing list of injured players. England have great strength in depth, however not in all positions and equally as yet the side is not settled. With a large number of these England contenders out with injury the chance to play a settled team during the AI's and the 6 Nations is becoming less likely.

So why are we seeing this increase ? I believe it is a very complex picture. Certainly the increasing physicality of the game is taking its toil, but I would argue a bigger influence is the refereeing of the game which is becoming of great concern. To date with the Premiership season I would estimate a strong arguements could be made that every week 2 or 3 players could easily have been red carded for foul, dangerous or reckless play and that's only from the games I have seen. Are the referees becoming weak ? I think this is too simplistic an answer.

I would highlight a very subtle, not orchestrated, undermining of the authority of the referee which has led to referees turning to the yellow card as opposed to red. Main culprits for me are the whinging and moaning Directors of Rugby and TV pundits/commentators. Referees decisions are being constantly challenged despite one of the fundamental principles of such a physical game as rugby is the referee is the sole judge of fact. Without acceptance of this simple statement the game would fall apart. It cannot be challenged if we and future generations of players/people want to gain the benefits of this special and great game.

There seems to be an attitude amongst DOR's and TV pundits that challenging the referee publically is fair game. It is not. The game at the top is Professional and hence under pressure to entertain. A sending off can end the contest and be contrary to the business principles required by the clubs. However the Professional Clubs do not own the game. To a degree a can understand DOR's reactions to decisions as livlelihoods are constantly under threat, however that does excuse this behaviour. There can be no excuse for TV pundits. Basically often their comments are simply totally irresponsible.

Equally there seems to be a misguided attitude that sending off a player for illegal and dangerous play is in some way making the game soft - "In my day the we took it and got on with it and had a beer afterwards" " handbags" "don't be a big girl" etc etc. Well the game is going soft but not in that way. The increasing tendency NOT to send off players, tolerating dangerous and reckless play, this is soft. Whining, moaning and continually challenging the referees authority is weak, pathetic, soft and most importantly damaging the game at grass roots level and now also at England International level.

It is time to take a stance against those attacking the fundamental core values of the game and stop defending foul, dangerous play. The time has come to encourage and support the referees to take tough action. If England suffer in the coming months leading into the World Cup due to an excessive injury toll a great deal of the responsibility will sit squarely with DOR's and TV pundits due to their unrelenting assault on the referees over several years. Referees have and will always make mistakes. Do what generations have always done before, accept it as a peculiar and centrally important part of the game - live with it. 

Rugbys core values provide an effective preparation for the challenges life present. Learning to deal with events and outcomes as they happen and developing coping strategies makes a person stronger, better. Rugby is just a game, but it is a special game which provides an exceptional basis to ALL that play to lead their lives in a positive and productive manner. I repeat the Professional Clubs do not own the game, it is game owned by all.

Wasps v Quins Away 20th Sept - Verdict

Can't really make any comments as yet I have not seen the game, only a few highlights. However from reports made to date for the over riding season target of improving consistency and accuracy we seemingly have made little progress.

We are scoring tries which is a good sign but very much as per previous seasons - that is apart from driving lineouts very little is coming from concerted pressure or organised attack. Mostly interceptions, Individual snipes, turnovers or kick chases. Now these should not be dismissed, however I guess what I'm trying to say is it would be encouraging to see some signs of affective coaching, tactical nous and development as opposed to simply a team that has appears to have trained well.

Still 6pts on the board is a good return from the fixtures to date. Although the teams played so far finished in the top four last season as yet it's not clear if these teams are performing at the same levels as last season - that would be with the exception of N'pton.

My call for the Quins game was a 17 to 26 win for Wasps. Going into the game the interest for me was to see if we could adopt the right mind set as it was pretty clear Quins would react from the heavy defeat the previous week that after our N'pton result expectation with players, coaches and supporters alike had been raised. From all accounts Quins did come out all guns blazing and with a little more composure we could well have secured the victory albeit not that pretty. This was never going to be pretty.

Mind set is everything and so again this week v Falcons we will need to be at our best. They have played 2 of the top 4 from last season and although only returned one losing bonus point have scored 6 tries and conceded 10 - not as good as our return on both counts however not much in it. Equally they had a 14pts turn around which went against them v Leicester via an intercept try on the Leicester line which could have presented a whole different picture. A further 4pts on our League tally would be very welcome and should go some way to improving our composure and confidence. 

We are very much on target for that top six finish and although performance seems to be erratic at this stage most teams bar Bath and N'pton seem to be playing with a lack of consistency.

Wasps v N'pton at Home 14th Sept 2014 - Verdict

Well, what a fantastic result. Confidence restored big time. 5pts on the board. In my pre season review the need I identified was for 12pts from the first six games....we are well on target. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, consistency has been the issue with us, highlighted by supporters, coaches, players, pundits etc so we need to back it up over the next few weeks. However lets enjoy the moment, we have just beaten the reigning Champions with a controlled, patient, composed, quality performance - YES.

So why the improvement ? Going into the game most had N'pton as favourites. I did anyway, looking at a 19 - 31 predicted score line. N'pton will have to carry this tag for the whole season as reigning Champions but that's their problem. Mind set wise we will have known anything short of our best could have led to a defeat and possibly a heavy defeat - this tends to focus the mind. Technically we were a different beast defensively and although we had few chances, in attack too. We showed composure and purpose - individually we have never had a problem, it is collectively we very seldom perform as one with clear focus.

For the majority of the game we had our backs to the wall. We never relented in purpose and organisation until just about their final attack. We did not over commit at the rucks before this last attack and made accurate decisions to attack the ball or drop back in line and keep our shape. We were only broken by the same movement as against Sarries where we over committed to a simple post or circle ball off 10. That is 9 running round 10, although in this instance 10 was tackled but still managed to off load.

In attack I can only think the presence of Leiua within the squad is focusing the mind of the whole back line, particularly the centres. Bell stuck to doing what he does well in attack and defence and Daly stayed straight and showed he can distribute accurately and effectively off his right hand. Dai Young has a big decisions to make, lucky him. Every player now must perform to the highest level or risk losing their place. This, hopefully will bring the consistency we are after. For future games the mind set will be a more difficult challenge as we will not be underdogs and more importantly we will need to take the initiative in attack. That is we can't start thinking we have beaten the Champions so all we need to do is turn up.

For this game, Goode showed his experience and kept the team moving forward with excellent game management and some good distribution. However it was not until Jackson entered the fray that we really threatened in attack, playing much higher and keeping the back line straight, creating space out wide. It is attacking the space between the attack and defensive lines that is the difference between top quality 10's and most other 10's with ball in hand. Much higher risk but the only way to threaten the defence effectively. The best 10's play flat and can distribute in the face of the defence. We now have options and again huge choices for Dai Young to make. Questions are if Jackson would have started would we have controlled the game as well and kept N'pton at bay.....I doubt it. However against other teams where we need to take the initiative Jackson or Lozowski could be better starting options particularly if the back line maintains the effective running lines. We simply must use all the resource we have across the field, but at the right time to suit the suitation.

Nathan Hughes gave us the good go forward last week but was mostly stifled this week. Haskell and Bell provided most of the go forward this week but mostly it was Goode who turned the N'pton defence with intelligent kicking supported by good chasers. Ashley Johnson was Ashley Johnson, simply a pain in the neck around the breakdown and in loose play. The front five provide superb cover and compensated for the lack of some of the requirements produced by our back row. Mostly our back row are ball carries first, tacklers and jacklers second and support players last if at all. However, the front five, Launchbury and Gaskell particularly, provide great support, high work rate and high tackle counts. Equally we have replacements available in Lindsay, Cooper Wooley, Myall, Cannon, Davies and Swainston who offer dynamic, high work rate options. Launchbury and Gaskell could quite easily and have played in the back row.

This performance whether resulting in a win or loss was very encouraging. N'pton choose to not take kickable pens and will be rueing those decisions today. They may have been believing their own press after their performance last week. However we must not fall into the same trap. We must play our game appropriate for the situation, all games will provide different challenges but we clearly have the fire power to beat any team if we play with this composure and accuracy. The rustiness of last week had disappeared and we looked sharper in mind and deed. We should also remember the Ashley Johnson intercept was a try the other end if missed. For me what was a delight was the Tom Varndell try. On the front foot, ball taken flat by Jackson, line straighten by Daly with accurate right to left passing putting TV in space. We know TV and Wadey can finish but a great decision and execution of the chip, gathered and scored. We should also highlight two excellent difficult conversions, with pressure, from Jackson.

Next up is Quins. We need to forget they are in turmoil and focus on the requirements. Narrow pitch makes space out wide a premium. So keep our defensive shape and play territory. Take the points when offered. Use the pack, midfield, counter attack and grubber kicks to provide the tries. Quins will come out all guns blazing and we need more of the N'pton composure and to turn the screw in the attacking zone. Keep lifting the aggression in defence line speed in attack and defence. COYW - back to back wins please.

Wasps v Saracens at HQ - 6th Sept - Verdict

First games are always a bit of a lottery and not a true indication of what may develop further into the season. My feelings were I guess much the same of many of the Wasps supporters, great expectation due to the strong finish to the previous season gaining ECC top level inclusion.

Realistically playing Saracens I was not expecting a win, however as the week progressed and understanding Saracens were several key players short, Britz, Joubert, Bosch, Burger, Mako Vunipola, De Kock and possibly Farrell and Hamilton, a win was not out of the question. Indeed with Borthwick also having retired the Saracens players, many who have played 1st XV during the previous season would have to front up without the leaders on the field, this a significantly different task. Wasps fundamentally were only one significant player missing, Leiua, even though he is totally unproven I, like many others, believe he will make a huge impact, we will see. Most/many of our other new recruits are high level players but not significantly better - simply provide good depth. Hence my Prediction League assessment changed several times, I finally settled for a 29 - 26 win to Sarries, based mostly on our rollercoster form last season.

Having now seen the game it was really one that got away. Saracens were a shadow of the team they were last season and very much for the taking. We need to improve significantly from this performance if we are to challenge for a top six place. Defensively we were a shambles throughout the game. During phase play we conceded the gain line too easily, too often drawn in by the dummy runner, had little or no composure during scrabbled defence situations and were too easily undone by simple post or circle balls. Equally we took a belt and braces approach to defend the short side off scrums supposedly due to the threat of Billy Vunipola, this approach left us exposed on the openside and led directly to the second Strettle try.

In attack Nathan Hughes gave us some excellent momentum crossing the gain line regularly. Haskell was more hit and miss but generally carried well. Most of the pack carried well, Launchbury was simply outstanding with work rate and support play and Gaskell showed at last we have a player that can pass a ball effectively. Mullen and Festuccia worked hard and effectively in the loose as well as contributing to a good set piece work from the pack. Like most of the previous 3 seasons our attacking play relies on individual brilliance as opposed to any structured approach. Joe Simspon carved a big hole, Launchbury unbelievably was first up to maintain the attack, Goode hit a fantastic cross field kick, Wade finished brilliantly and Ashley Johnson showed his versatility to create a score. Pretty sure this will continue to happen throughout the season, but we must do more, we must work purposefully and collectively.

Our back row is terribly unbalanced and provides little support in attack, little cover or defence in the wide channels. Our distribution around 10 and 12 is slow, predictable, inaccurate and often we are taking too much space from the players out wide with our distribution and running lines. Generally off slow ruck ball our runners are taking the ball standing still and provide no threat and mostly fail to get across the gain line. Also of concern is our perceived fitness levels. We did not look sharp. This could be early season cobwebs. However it needs to be better.

Next up is Northampton who were simply outstanding against Gloucester. Should imagine (hope) they cannot perform to that level again back to back. Hopefully the Saracens game was just a case of nervousness, over excitement and we will see a more structured and controlled performance to go with the undoubted individual brilliance within the squad. 

2014/15 Season Preview

On the back of a fantastic end to last season we can look forward to season 2014/15 with great expectation. Back into the top level European Competition and thank goodness we have dropped the London tag, simply Wasps again. Currently we now sit alphabetically bottom but effectively joint top. The season can't start soon enough. Just need to reinstate the Hoops in Black and Old Gold, shirts that stand out in a crowd. This would make me for one very happy. Last season was pretty much an even playing field although we did not have the benefit of full recruitment opportunities. As we enter the new season we now have a club with greater stability, are once again an attractive option for high level ambitious players and can benefit once again from full recruitment options, although, this window may not be open for long so we need to act now.

Targets for the season have been announced by Dai Young, a 6th placed finish being the minimum requirement.  Also towards the end of last season the coaching staff highlighted a need for a 30% improvement. Indeed this level of improvement based on the numbers would provide the 6th placed finish as required. But what specifically needs to improve and and is it acheivable ?

Already highlighted many times is the need for performance consistency, greater accuracy and discipline in order to turn around many of the close run matches from last season. Home results and an improvement in the Feb onwards Premiership form will be further indicators of progress. Recruitment has been well reported with 13 players or so leaving and 12 ish new players arriving. Certainly the quality of the recruitment to date looks to provide much needed depth to the squad, genuine options with the staring XV and this should indeed lead to greater performance consistency. However, the depth is a bit uneven and some positions look still exposed. With many intangibles likely to affect all clubs as the season progresses I feel we still to keep fingers crossed to try and avoid some possible events. As yet it is not clear how the Feb onwards results schedule will be improved, we will just have to wait and see. Changes to training regimes, not too much time on their feet during the week, extra 2nd XV fixtures to keep the whole squad in shape ready to step up if and when required and greater strength in squad depth may prove to be answer to the Feb slump. Massive changes to the conditioning team has occurred but personnel was not really the issue, in fact most have moved on from the club to international level service. It is the amount of time players spend on their feet during the week and lack of match programming for wider squad players which I think need to be addressed.

The first 6 fixtures will provide some indication as to how the season will progress. The first 6 fixtures provide a strong challenge. Last season the return on these opening 6 fixtures was 13pts. So a 30% improvement equates to a haul of 17pts which would be very welcome. However, the opposition in these first 6 fixtures has changed, based on the League position finish last season of our first 6 opponents the challenge looks much tougher. Like for like against these teams, based on last seasons results, we would have achieved a total of only 9pts, with the added 30% performance increase that equates to some 12pts from the first 6 games. Now that does not look too great and would result in a League position of about 9th/10th after 6 games. Point is as Wasps supporters we have a tough opening batch of fixtures and will need to hold back on the expectation and be patient. Anything in single figures and we should be concerned about achieving a 6th placed finished, anything north of 12pts we should have a satisfied, confident grin.

We had an outstanding finish to last season with the Euro play offs but this needs to be put into perspective. Our Prem home record reads won 5 from 11 (inc The Stinger) and the Feb onwards form was won 3 from 10. The key benefit of this end of season performance is for the longer term future and not necessarily next season (2014/15). We certainly need to back up that performance with a top six finish, however recruitment with an eye on season 2015/16 is the main benefit and we need now to maximise the advantage. At this point we are now a much more attractive proposition for experienced quality players. In my experience the pounds shillings and pence are obvisously important to players however to the highest level players, playing in the top competitions is also a high, if not higher, priority. Now we could wait and let the season unfold or we can make hay whilst the sun shines and start signing players now. That is current squad players extensions and new players, ready for season 2015/16 and beyond. Most importantly any recruitment needs to be geared to the playing style direction the coaching staff are taking the squad and hence they need to be briefed on the current progress with securing a ground the key issue being the likely playing diamentions of the new pitch and building a squad to suit.

At present we should assume this communication is taking place and a new ground would come with a pitch of maximum size dimensions, a jointly shared rugby/soccer stadium may not provide the width we need to benefit from the pace and mobility within the squad. The main strength of the current Wasps squad, what has really saved the day for Wasps, is the exceptional pace and individual brilliance within the squad. It is no great surprise that Wasps perform/compete much better on wider pitches in good conditions. Adams Park is narrower than the maximum permitted, our home form is poor and our away form at certain venues is very good, Twickenham being one example. Basically the squad strengths are not being complimented by the Adams Park pitch, but it is the long term we need to build for not just this coming season, the long term offers a different pitch option.

11 of the Prem matches are at home (LDH permitted), playing in an environment which compliments our strengths or adjusting the squad to suit, seems to make sense to me. Indeed when we played at Loftus Road with a narrow pitch the playing patterns and recruitment was designed with this very much to the fore. The pattern was flexible with the ability to be effective on the wider surfaces, however a narrow pitch was not a disadvantage to us but was mostly to visiting teams. The move to Adams Park fitted perfectly with the squad strengths and although playing patterns changed when Warren Gatland took charge introducing Gatlandball and also the rush defensive system introduced by Shuan Edwards both these systems very much complimented the playing pitch diamentions and the strengths of the squad. Nowadays there are more fixtures played on maximum width pitches, but we currently suffer with half our games played on a pitch which does not fully compliment our squad strengths. Our playing systems are also a little unclear, seemingly centred around a forward dominated, safety first approach, which does change within games when the need arises to a more risk orientated approach. However this more risk orientated, catch up rugby style approach has produced our most successful periods throughout the season, albeit usually when chasing a game. This has resulted in a important gain in terms of losing bonus point tally. Greater commitment to bring the pace we have into the game earlier, albeit on a narrower pitch, may well be an answer short term/long term to a more competitive consistant performance and help to improve the overall handling, passing accuracy - (match) practice makes perfect.

So getting back to the need now to recruit for the longer term future, in particular we need a Fly Half of International status to take us forward if we are to be serious contenders for top 6, top 4. Andy Goode has contributed massively to the current success of Wasps this past season and will again provide excellent direction this coming season. However his natural game does not bring the outside channel into play as a major threat enough through distribution, although this is compensated for to some degree via his vision and ability to kick accurate cross field type kicks to stretch defences. However the key point is Andy will not go on forever, hence a Fly Half with the ability to manage the game, make best use of the pace available out wide and distribute effectively is a key requirement and should be addressed now whilst we are in a position to attract the very best. It may well be the recent recruitments of Jackson and Lozowski provide the answer however that is yet to be seen. The fact is we now have a squad pretty much capable of winning the League with the exception of a current World Class fly half, which all teams above us do possess. Teams that win the throphies all have top class 10's.

Further to this we have pretty much all in place with a mobile, skilful squad of players with great pace throughout. The front line additions to the squad with Gaskell, Miller and Leiua fit perfectly with overall strengths of the current squad and I'm sure other new recruits will as the season progresses provide great competition and real options for the selectors. An addition of another top level scrum half to compete with Joe Simpson (and keep him fresh) with pace and threat along with another inside centre with the ability to truck it up and off load/present momentum ball quickly would also be on my initial want list.

Off the field many changes have taken place. However the only effective, significant change will be ownership of a stadium or definite news of this objective. The Stinger was a big success in terms of a great event, a great day out and demonstrated the potential of the club, even though it was a financial loss falling about 15,000 short in terms of attendance for break even, it did however provide a massive boost and injection of confidence into the Club. The short and long term future of the club is currently still very much dependent on a generous club owner and will remain this way until a stadium is in place. A top 6th finish and with it inclusion in the top level European competition has significant financial implications. Rising the average attendance at Adams Park this season will of course be very welcome but filling the stadium every week will only just about balance the books. We need the ability to run conference events, gain more from food and drink sales and turn the Stadium into a major income source 7 days and week throughout the year.

In summary, on the field, we now have momentum and need to maintain this. A 6th placed and above finish is achievable with the assembled squad. It will not be a gimme, the first six fixtures provide a real challenge. The squad additions should provide the consistency we require. The accuracy required will only come from playing outside our comfort zone and challenging our skill sets in a match environment on a regular basis. We need to understand better the playing environment and play appropriate patterns to suit. I think just about every player, coach, supporter understood the advantages playing towards the clubhouse at Sudbury. Adams Park has more subtle characteristics and playing patterns need tweaking to maximise performance. On the field confidence is everything in sport and I believe the confidence gained from the Stinger and at the end of last season will be evident at the start of this season and carry us through the first 6 fixtures with a 12pt return. This will provide the base to go on to achieve a 6th placed finish. Just need a strong start to the season.

Season Predictions - 

Saracens - Top 4

Northampton - Top 4

Leicester - Top 4

Bath - 4th to 6th

Harlequins - 4th to 7th

Sale - 6th to 9th

Wasps - 6th to 9th

Gloucester 6th to 9th

Exeter 8th to 10th

London Irish 8th to 10th

Newcastle 11th or 12th

London Welsh 11th or 12th

Pitch sizes from Premiership Rugby - 

Bath: 100m x 68.5m, 5 m in goals.

Exeter: 100 m x 69m, 14 m in goals.

Gloucester: 97m x 70 m, 7.5m in goals.

Harlequins: 100m x 65m, 8m in goals.

Leicester: 89m x 64.5m (post to post).

London Irish: 94m x 68m, 5.5m in goals.

London Wasps: 94m x 68.5, 5m in goals.

London Welsh: 98m x 70m, 10m in goals.

Northampton: 100m x 70m, 8m in goals.

Sale: 100m x 67m, 6.5m in goals.

Saracens: 96m x 68m, 5m in goals.

How to exploit space out wide by pictures.

Picture 1) 3 men inside 5m channel. Space but not much. Passing player square pulling tackler onto them - hence preserving the space. The defender/tackler should drift/push out but he is sucked in by the quality of the pass.

Picture 2) Ball carrier is fixing defender with eyes and by staying square. Ball held high providing ability to pass left or right. Most important the ball carrier can advance very close to defender and still be able to pass, hence holding the defender.

Picture 3) Note the passer is engulfed by the defender - he has pulled him right into the tackle but the ball has gone into the space which has been preserved.

Winger is now away with one defender to beat. He cuts inside and feeds the 8 who goes in for a simple try. I say simple. I don't think many other teams in the world could do this, remembering two back row forwards were involved in the action. 

Pictures 4 and 5) Below.

What happened to the England defence ?

In the 3rd Test, NZ v England, in the first half it appeared that NZ were able to simply pass the ball into the wide channels and be presented with massive overlaps, 3 v 2, 3 v 1. Watching the game live I guess like many others my head filled with horror with the ease that these situations were created.

NZ scored 4 tries during this period and butchered 2 more, if that is the correct adjective. NZ are not in the kitchen chopping up joints of meat they are in the hospital theatre, performing the most delicate operations...at speed...some go wrong...Julian Saver salvaged one with a brilliant pick up off his toes. Space had been created, space had been protected and the ball passed into the right area but only just clinically enough - space exploited - try. Passing is not just about transferring the ball from one to another, it needs to be performed with the defender/defence as the trigger. Knowing why you are passing, how to pass with the end outcome in mind, and hence when to pass. Technically a player needs a range of passes and needs to apply the appropriate technique to fit the bill. Spin passes are seldom the correct option when trying to expose an overlap or put a receiver through a hole.

Most of the post match inquest has focussed on individual stats, highlighted that things improved for England when subs were made and a big bollocking was administered at half time. If it was only that simple - the game was over.

To me there is far to much focus on stats - tackles made, tackles missed, meters made etc. Stats are becoming a comfort zone for players and coaches, they should be viewed as a guide and no more. For instance a tackle on the front foot is vastly different from one on the back foot. In particular in this 3rd test the damage was done way before the ball arrived in the wide channels. The defenders in these channels had little or no chance of making effective tackles, being faced by often 3 attackers all on the front foot. It is far too easy to say these individual players had a bad day at the office. It was the unit defence and the brilliance of the NZ passing and support movement that were the key factors.

Equally first half line speed was another reason put forward as the issue for the poor defensive display, justified by we improved line speed in the second half and then defended much better. Line speed improved, did it, where's the evidence for this. Sure it was nothing to doing with NZ taking their foot off the pedal just a bit and making a change at 10 later on.

No, to me all these comments have little to do what really is going on. It's all down to the ability of the NZ back line and squad to pass a ball accurately and more efficiently than any other team. To me the same occurred in the first test but the end result did not manifest itself as the execution was just not good enough, they were rusty. 2nd Test showed a glint of what is possible, just 20mins worth but enough to win the game comfortably. Also, a quick aside, in the 3rd Test the playing conditions were the worst of all the Tests, so the quality of the passing was even more impressive.

In detail, the NZ backs are capable of playing the ball closer to the opposition, still get the pass away because they hold the ball correctly. What this does is hold the midfield defence. I see endless pictures (see below) of England players passing with their hips turned, ball held low hence not holding the defender.Together with this ability the NZ backs support running lines are more effective as they drift onto their final line very late and right on the tackle line, offsetting the defender. Equally by having correct passing technique enables the ball to be transferred quickly and effectively if need be. Result of all this is the defensive line can end up as startled rabbits as they are drawn into tackles which don't exist as the ball has been moved on.

With England the support runners are mostly on straight lines, the ball is carried too low and the hips rarely stay square when the ball is being passed. In essence our game is to dominate the opposition physically, in the collision, with speed and power and then look for the off load. This game approach being our preferred method of breaking defences and one we are very good at, however very seldom wins tournaments. This method of course also fixes the defender effectively but rarely creates extra space and/or overlaps.

One example of this would Chris Ashton's try in the 2nd Test. Manu Tuilagi ran straight and hard as he does, at 2 NZ defenders in the wide channel (see below). There was no space created. However his power drew in the outside defender and he then made an awesome one handed off load to Mike Brown who magnificently caught the transfer (pass) which was behind him and low. Brown then had a simple task to feed the ball inside to Ashton to score.

Playing this way brings it's rewards and indeed England are very good at this game pattern approach and I believe should simply persist with this approach rather than try and mimic the NZ approach which requires seriously high levels of distribution skills which we simply do not possess. Time and time again we see England create space with 3 v 2's or 2 v 1's but fail to protect the space created by turning hips out in the pass and hence failing to fix the defence or exploit the space created.

To stop NZ we simply cannot defend as narrow as we have been. We need to get numbers quickly into the defensive line, so not over commit at the ruck and work the line speed more but most importantly look to drift the defensive line. NZ will not go through the middle of us, or most others for that matter but they will and do expose teams in the outside channels. Our defensive pattern is fine against other teams but for NZ special measures are required.

End of Aviva Premiership Season 2013/14 final quarter - update 4 - 12th May 2014

Final 1/4 Season Review 2013/14

Final game of the season completed in the Aviva Premiership so time to look back at our whole season  in the AP and try and make sense of the stats. The AP is also a means to higher competition and higher funding hence the aim is straight forward, a top six finish, first and foremost, then secondly to survive and build. To this end we have failed to get into the top six this season. However with the goal posts being moved we still have an opportunity to achieve top flight European Competition next season via a two legged play off as reward for a 7th placed finish. Should we achieve this then without question the season must be classified as a massive success due to what it means in terms of the increased status and the financial implications. Why is this important, well we are yet to know the breakdown of the financial implications for not making the top flight Euro Comp. My concern is expressed in previous blogs regarding the new Euro competition and what is now becoming a clear divide in the AP between top 6 and bottom 6. How the cake is cut will either make this a more acheivable target or a more difficult task to bridge. We will have to wait. Equally we should, whilst comparing this season to previous seasons, factor in that we were working significantly below full funding and the wage cap, in season 2011/12 and have, since about January 2013, had full funding available to maximise the wage cap, so much more of a level playing field since then. So has our AP performance improved ?

I would think is fair to say that emotionally for supporters has been another roller coster of a season. The biggest high being the Stinger match at HQ which lifted spirits, provided a good quality performance on the field and of course that much needed win. Momentum had been gained looking forward to the play offs v Stade. But then another down v Saints away - I think again fair to say most supporters were looking at a 30 to 40 pt defeat and ready to accept this as this would have still maintained the momentum. However shipping 74pts in 60mins brought everyone back down to earth, reminding us of the fragile nature of our squad and seasons performances, up and down, up and down. I do feel for the players involved in this Saints match as many/most were, unbelievably, not match fit as they have hardly played. I remember the winning mantra of previous coaches "make sure you look after the 16 to 42 squad players as a first priority, the 1 to 15 will look after themselves". Part of the cause of the erratic performance of the team must be assigned to lack of a match programme for the back up group of players and would for me be the first area for the club management to address for next season. A full season of B team matches is a must in my book.

Ok, just looking at the cold hard stats the overall picture looks very similar to season 2012/13. We have moved up one position in the league, overall pts total increased by one -  pts scored are less, points against increased from the 2012/13 and 2011/12 seasons - tries scored are slightly down - tries conceded also slightly up. The gap between the top six finishers and bottom six finishers again shows a clear divide in terms of the points for and against record as it turns negative below sixth place. The gap between our final league position and distance off 6th place has narrowed from 12pts in season 2012/13 to 8pts this season. We have won the same amount of games as the previous season, however we have won less games at home and more away. Back to back AP consecutive wins this season totalled  2 as opposed to 5 in season 2012/13. Our Feb onwards AP record remains a consistant problem as with the previous two seasons achieving one extra win this season in 10 games as opposed to 2 wins from 9 games in previous seasons. So mostly much of a muchness with the holy grail 7th place being secured - the honest appraisal of this however is others below us have slipped as opposed to us having improved that much.....we need to be aware that this is the case and do need to start beating the top six level teams who against in 12 games we managed one win. Overall our attacking points works out as 4th equal in the AP League and our defence pts against places us 9th.

So on the face of it the stats and the patterns of the season appear the same as last season, however dig a little deeper and there are some stark differences. This season the forwards have matched/outscored the backs in terms of tries, this is a massive shift in emphasis. Also the majority of the tries scored have come in the final 20 minute match quarter. What this reflects is a significant change in approach to style of play, now being much more a fowards orientated, a safety first risk free approach. Now this could simply be a reaction to having been vulnerable to driving lineouts and the scrum in previous years and/or not having confidence in the back line to look after the ball or produce the scores. As mentioned earlier in previous quarterly blogs the change of style of 10 was very likely to cause a change in the back line threat. This is not in any way judgemental simply recognising the difference between how Nicky Robinson and Andy Goode approach the game and how that impacts the patterns and characteristics of the team. The issue here is that when we start to play catch up rugby we are very successful. Yes we are inaccurate and lack support but with our pace within the team we pose a threat. Take this away and 1) we are easy to manage and 2) we will never develop the accuracy and support required to compete at the top level unless we go there week in week out from the start. What I am saying is the stats show we should be more confident to attack with ball in hand from the outset as opposed to a slower more controlled territory based game. We have the players now to frighten teams and with the likes of Rob MIllar (10 in my book) and Leiua coming in this fear would only increase - however we do have to move out of the comfort zone into the higher risk zone to maximise the benefits from all this pace.

Equally other changes and events need to be factored into any analysis. Scrum law changes have reduced the impacts and made it easier to involve the more skilful props who could well have added to the increase foward game emphasis, basically scrummaging this season is simply not just a battle of size, thank goodness. Also many have commented regarding Christian Wade missing being a factor. Well I'm sure it has been, but at the time of his injury the foward/back scoring ratio was the same. It was also very predictable not to expect the same level of try scoring from Christian and Tom V due to the change of the 10 and this appears to have turned out to be the case.

With the announced recruitment to date we certainly look to have more strength in depth for season 2014/15. Personally I feel a top line established 10 would be my highest priority, accepting that Jackson, Carlisle and Goode offer us very good options but if we aspire to be at the toplook at the teams above us - Farrell/Hodgson, Myler, Williams/Flood, Evans, Ford and Cipriani - this is what we are competing against. The 10 sets the tone the style of a team, our 10's offer a wide range of top level skills but vary widely from one to the other and mostly offer only one direction of playing. On top of this having more strength is depth is only of value if it supported with another match schedule for these players. We want them coming into the starting line up match fit. Only so much can be achieved on the training park. 

We also need to address the Feb slide issue. The training regime needs to be monitored. Craig White was famous for walking out onto the training ground and telling the coach to stop training now...."your 37mins with the players is up...." etc. Just to be clear, players can be prepared to the nth degree by great conditioners....but if then the coaches take them out on the field and work them for too long, keep them on their feet too long, from a mental side drag them into analysis meeting etc etc too much they will not be physically or mentally up to the task, which is to perform on the match day. Sharper minds, sharper bodies are required. 

We have had 3 seasons now when the team has under performed from Feb onwards. Interestingly when we have had a challenge before us against a strong team we have performed well, although still maybe lost. It has mostly been against opposition we expect to beat that the performance and result has fallen. This indicates the issue clearly. We can raise our game with a focussed mind set but as the fatigue builds during the season if we let this mind set slip physically we are also weakened and hence cannot raise our game. Now this is very much conjecture on my part but ask yourself how this relates to some of the games you have witnessed towards the end of this season and previously. If this is not the case I would dearly like to hear some other explanations - coincidence is one I suppose, bad luck another !

In summary we cannot forget that in 2011/12 we were just about down and out and in need of emergency action. The club management have done a great job to keep it all together and progress our league position to a point where we have a chance in our control for top level European Competition next season. The skills required to make this progression should not be dismissed, it has been immense achievement. We are now at point where if we are to make a full recovery significant further actions need to occur with regard to the further development of the club and squad. It's a little bit like being saved by the paramedics out on the street and delivered alive to hospital and now we need the expertise of the surgeons to make a full recovery. We need a stadium. We need a deeper quality squad. We need consistency. We need accuracy. We need a B team and/or U23 type full season match programme. We need a top six finish next season. We have the quality, power and pace within the squad.

The final question I struggle with is do we need top level European Competition next season ? Well, provided the financial rewards between level 1 and 2 are not too great then NO. However even if the rewards differential is great there are 6 AP places available next season and most likely 1 or 2 of the current teams will still be open to attack. So at this moment in time I feel a strong, competitive account of ourselves in the play offs will suffice, meaning we can move through the close season with great expectation of current squad players being strengthened with new acquisitions and look forward to a strong challenge for a top six finish in season 2014/15. If we come out on top in the play offs all well and good but need to be realistic about our expectation. We can and should go into these play off matches with a mind set of nothing to lose and everything to gain - attack, attack, attack from minute 1 to minute 160.

3rd March 2014

Continuing with my horse racing analogy from my last blog (below) it unfortunately appears our form over the past few seasons has once again returned and whilst seemingly having positioned ourselves well in the early part of the race we have not trained appropriately for the challenge, we seem to have a one miler running in a mile and half distance race.

However moving away from the analogy, rugby is not not the same as a horse race. All the players are capable or should be of going the distance and indeed should be prepared to to peak towards the end of the season when trophies and/or targets are to be achieved. So a deeper look and assessment of the issues need to made. Over the last 3 seasons the off the field activity has clearly played a part in the seasons outcomes but it is now a year on at least since these off the the field issues were addressed, resolved with little or no input from the playing side of the club, so they could go about their business in a normal fashion, albeit under resourced. Whilst these off field issue had direct impact on performance in terms of squad size and quality recruitment, we have managed to maintain high quality/top quality players and most importantly attract more into the squad. Equally we have a young group of players who have the capacity to improve.

All clubs endure high injury lists, this is the nature of the game. Our medical teams have changed over the 3 year period, however there is no evidence to suggest our medical team are or were less capable then any of the others, my experience is they work very hard and are of top quality. Likewise conditioning teams have changed and again there is no evidence to suggest that they are or were less capable then any other clubs conditioning staff. Indeed if we cast our mind back to pre season the message coming from the club was as positive as it has ever been from coaches and players alike that the pre season was one of the most demanding and beneficial they had experienced. 

As I have eluded too in the previous quarterly blogs, I have questioned if we "have the legs" to take us through to the end of the season based on previous outcomes from previous seasons. Do we have the ability to challenge when the pace picks up and suggest we need to wait and see. Well we have done that now and although we are still in the hunt for a top 6th or 7th place we have failed to take advantage of the our strong early season form.

As supporters we cannot expect our team to perform at the very top level every week, this does not happen in any sporting discipline. It is all about understanding the challenge and preparing appropriately. Our team have the very best direction and guidance in terms of, medical support, conditioning, coaching support and nutritional input. So why is this seemingly not transferring into the on field performance ? It the performance that most supporters appear to be concerned about. Not the winning or losing, we can all accept sometimes a team is better on the day tactically, have the luck of the roll of the dice and/or have greater resources to enhance their performance.

When fatigue sets in, long term fatigue, which I believe is the case, this is the hardest to overcome. Maybe in a one off cup match or in our case two seasons back in a relegation battle the mind can dig deeper to create the energy and will to overcome this. Without wishing to undermine any other teams and looking at the recent games, Bath away was a much bigger challenge than say Irish or Sale at home and our performance was much stronger. So my hope is that now all the remaining games will appear as a bigger challenge and the squad, and by that I mean players and  coaches will be able to rise above the apparent fatigue of a long and demanding season and present strong, competitive performances. Every match through to the end of the season needs to be viewed, in mind set terms, as a Cup Final. We then may still be able to achieve a 6th place, it is achievable.

At the end of the season this key issue, now an established pattern, needs to be addressed. My feeling, as was my feeling last season and the season before is that players are on the feet too much during the normal working week. That is, whilst coaches want their pound of flesh from the players to work with them on their particular, specialist areas these need to managed carefully and considered as a overall assessment of their ability to perform. GPS technology provides vast amounts of information regarding players suitability to train and play however it does not provide information on mind set. That is a player can return results showing he is at their peak during training, but, but, but it does not provide any information with regard to mind set. It is to some degree the science of hindsight.

All coaches, players alike always refer to the well used phrase "we must work harder", this is all well and good however completely wrong....to improve, players/ coaches/performance "need to work smarter" understand the issues do what is appropriate. Some players need pulling out of the gym as they will work and work and work, completely taking their eye off the point which is the match at the end of the week. Time after time I have had parents contacting me about their lads, concerned that they are doing too much...they most often are/were correct. No GPS, just a gut feel. However the "we must work harder" mantra had overwhelmed their lads and common sense gone out the window. Work hard for sure, but  make sure it is appropriate and not just work for the sake of work 

-  to get in the room it is advisable to open the door as opposed to smashing the wall down !!! 

Time and time again I have heard coaches saying " we worked on this all week and they still didn't do what I told them" ....well they won't, because every player has a default reaction to every situation and simply by doing it a few times during the week will not change this default position which kicks in when under pressure in match situations. It will take months to change this default reaction position....ask Nick Faldo how long it took him to change his golf swing. So for Wasps, changing the default position at this stage is not possible. We are what we are, which is very good with exceptional, high quality players. How do we get the best out of them over the final quarter of the season ? Cut training runs back to minimal length, ensure the challenge of a 6th place finish is highlighted in a positive "let's do it, we can do it " fashion, set the short term target and ensure everyone, back room staff, supporters and all understand this is what the last quarter of the season is about. COYW.

30th Dec 2013

Half Way Round the Block - how we looking - 30th Dec 2013

So 11 Premiership games completed, the runners are pretty bunched in mid field with one seemingly trailed off looking at being pulled up and 2 others going strongly out in front. This race over the last two season has taken the same shape and indeed the Wasps stallion is very much in a similar position within the midfield pack. Previous seasons have seen Wasps unable to stay the pace when the others press the go button, however the talk from the stables suggest this year could see Wasps being more competive during the final run ins. 

In season 2011/12 Wasps were seemingly in a secure position at half way but the tank emptied almost immediately before our eyes mostly due to a lack of tactical nous against the strongly improving Exeter, where taking up the inside rail and the two points available would have enabled an easy run in finishing in 10th or 11th - remembering in the climate and with the massive disruption at the Twyford Avenue stables this would have been success.

For season 2012/13 Wasps were again travelling well approaching the final stretch only for the tank to again empty rapidity. However, lessons had been learned and Wasps coasted into a comfortable 8th position and had indeed already started preparations for season 2013/14. Earlier expectation had not been achieved but fires in the supporters bellies had been rekindled and indeed most if not all would have grabbed at 8th place at the start of the race.

These two previous years had shown a clear pattern and areas for development leading into this 2013/14 race. So far lessons seem to have been taken on board and addressed, with much more attacking scope, ability to perform in variety of conditions, ability to defend challenges and critically more support available in the event of injury, something that had very much influenced performance in the previous two years.

So as we approach the final furlongs we simply need to maintain the early stage form, remain competitive and be able to respond to any increased pace. Basically we are all holding our breath waiting to see if the adjustments made over the past few season have had the desired affect in the final run and our tank does not empty as quickly as in previous years. No need to go quicker, trick is to not slow down as fast as the others.

Here is a link to current and previous form - http://www.rugbyroundup.com/stats.php?leagueID=1&statType=triesScored. Important to remember stats tell you everything about what has happened and nothing about what will happen. 

With regard to the race so far and Wasps current standing, well from similar positions we have won races at domestic and European status. This could happen again, our charge is young and still developing, far from the finished article. Only the next few months will show if we have prepared correctly to deal with the second half of the race which has been the consistent weakness or if indeed as the signs indicate we are handily placed on the rails to mount a serious challenge for some tangible achievement. May be not a trophy but may be simply enough to interest the photo finish judge.

Here's to an exciting and successful 2014.

Season to date - written 6th Oct 2013

Bit of a break in the Aviva so a good time to reflect and look forward to the challenges ahead. First the facts. 5 games done, 3 away games and 2 at home, 9pts on board. Maximum pts available from the 5 games is 25 so from the simple equation we are on course for 36/37pts from the 110pt season max. This would manifest itself I would estimate as a league finish around 9th or10th. 

Now, don't know about you but my realistic expectation from the first 5 games was about 9pts probably less, yes hoping for more, but think 9pts is a good return based on the large turn around in the squad and the recent results history of the fixtures completed to date - Exeter/Sale away etc. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and yes we could have had a greater haul but for a width of a post and some better individual tackling, however 9pts is what it is and I think a good squad achievement to build upon.

Ok so now for the Mystic Meg bit. Rather than simply speculate or guess wildly again it would be better to base expectations on previous history, long and short term and make a considered assessment of future challenges. Clubs tend to have an identity, if you're asked to describe other clubs within the Premiership I think it is fair to say that from a sample of 20 or so rugby knowledgable people certain adjectives would emerge. For example with Leicester - solid and strong in the set piece areas, good depth of squad, play for 80mins, give little away, competitive, consistent and ruthless attitude etc - may not hear the words flair, flamboyant, adventurous quite so often. Let me be clear this is not in any way judgemental simply what they are. 

So short term to date, this season what adjectives can we apply to Wasps ? From commentary I have read or heard, I would offer - organised in defence, competitive, proficient in set piece, 80min fitness, scoring options throughout the team ( not just wingers...a change from last year) and well managed game from 10 would be the positives the work ons would be more creativity in attack, greater accuracy and this may only be a very short term issue greater composure in attack and defence - patience. I say short term as  this is a totally understandable characteristic of a new squad lacking an early win. Equally the 10 issue is relevant as in Andy Goode we have a 10 from completely the other end of the spectrum from Nicky Robinson - again not at all judgemental, just different. The affect of this however is do not expect the wingers to be bringing home 26 tries this season.

Longer term considerations should be based on performances towards the end of the previous seasons under the existing structures which have now been in place for a third season. Now these will of course be affected by the size and depth of the squad, equally the players lost to the EQP structure and also the affect caused by the overall season fitness which can be maintained by the squad - that is can they go for the full season. Well most of these simply fall into the Mystic Meg box, however what needs to be kept an eye on is the mounting injury list, which has been a consistant factor in the club throughout changes to conditioning and medical staff, and of course whether the squad can maintain energy and power being shown now through to the end of the season. These factors will be more relevant this season due to the fact that we will be playing more of the top of the table teams towards the end of the season. Now the fixture scheduling could be a blessing in disguise as the highest performing clubs will be keen to rest players and indeed will lose players during the second half of the season, hence vulnerable. However there is no point in speculating about if we will be performing well in the second half of the season, picking up wins or not but simply this needs to be monitored and assessed when the second half of the season is completed. The reason I say this is because it is a long term issue and hence a cultural and structural issue, it cannot be changed quickly. At this point there are very good, sound reasons why the second half of the season in the previous two years we have seen winning performances become scarce.

So to summarise. The first 5 games have produced good reward and is a positive achievement for a young and newly assembled squad. The strong likelihood is that the squad will start to understand each other more as the season progresses. The most encouraging aspect this season has been the level of try scoring in each game and not least the variety of players scoring -

follow stats link - www.rugbyroundup.com/stats.php

 - hence relieving the pressure on the wingers to score at the level they achieved last season. This is mostly due to having a more competitive pack and an experienced fly half in Andy Goode who provides clear direction and possesses a quality territorial game which will be significant throughout the next tranch of matches through to March. Whilst being excited at the potential of the squad at the start of the season, potential takes time to realise. A league finish around 8th this season to me would be positive with the option of going into the following season with a more stable squad. The continued fitness and availability of Andy Goode is a significant factor in achievement of this objective. Up until the New Year, another 6 premiership matches, a further 9pts at the bottom end or 12pts at the top end would be a good haul and another important achievement for this young and developing squad. Mind set and confidence is everything at this and indeed most levels. With increases in confidence the accuracy and basic errors will disappear. We, as supporters should be letting this young, new squad know clearly that to this point we are very proud of the performance to date and excited with regard to the future potential.