Wasps to reign supreme again?

Wasps are building up quite a formidable coaching team. Some of the big names currently there are:

Dai Young - Director of rugby (ex Blues head coach)
Shaun Edwards - Head Coach (also Wales defence coach)
Paul Turner - Skills (ex Dragons head coach)
Trevor Woodman - Forwards coach (world cup winner)

There are also other good staff at Wasps & you would think that there could be a recipe for success with all those guys working together. The Welsh defence is now something to be proud of again & Edwards needs to get that transferred to his club.

Dai Young may not have a big trophy cabinet, but he won the Amlin cup in 2010 & he has developed a very competitive Blues squad with massive potential for the future. He helped nurture Wales captain Sam Warburton, Lions man of the series Jamie Roberts & Leigh Halfpenny. His worst mistake was seeing something in Dan Parks that everyone else didn't.

Paul Turner did a decent job at the Dragons with very limited funds & resources. They always tried hard & played an attacking watchable brand of rugby. We are now seeing a lot more Dragons representing Wales partly down to the foundations that Turner built.

I think they have one of the best coaching teams in Europe now & should collectively bring success in the near future.

Good coaching team but a threadbare squad that is need of much re-investment and that has been than partially rebuilt this summer and will be unable to gell because of key players away at the RWC.

I'll be honest here. I think Dai leaving the Blues for Wasps was a big mistake on his part. Had he left for any of the top French outfits or Leicester/Northampton/Bath I dotn think anyone would have minded.

Dont get me wrong, all credit to Di if he manages to suceed but unless the owners are pumping more money in I'm not sure where he will find the resources for players. Sure he has a great coaching team but you need good players as well.

Here are the signings:-
Steve Thompson (Hooker) - At 33 I fail to see how they will improve him at this stage. Has experience but clearly coming to the end of his career.

Ross Filipo (Lock) - The New Zealand lock is 32 and looking for a last pay day. I'm not convinced.

M. Wentzel - (Lock) - A good club level lock. Won't let you down but I dont think Leicester will be quaking in their boots. Bath or Northampton or Sarcens either for that matter.

J. Poff (Openside Flanker) - Rees look like he may be totaly knackered. Poff is a mixed bag. Could be a great signing but its difficult to know for sure as he couldnt oust McCaw at the Crusaders.

N. Robinson (Fly Half) - Monster boot, cracking hands and good running game. Only problem is Nicky is prone to some off days from time to time and isnt the worlds greatest goal kicker. Great signing though.

R. Davies (Fly Half) - Backup player at best.

H. Southwell (Full Back) - 31 years and also getting past his best years. He will still be good for them though. Good club level signing.

G. Roan (Prop) - At 23 he is still young but the Argentine Prop could be a good long term investment.

They also have signed some other unkowns and possibly the Argy backrower but nothing in the current squad leads me to believe they will make it to the playoffs let alone challenge Saracens or Leicester.

I do hope he does it though as if he fails this could destroy his career long term and may certanly cost him his Welsh aspirations.

The worst part is that at the Blues he probably had a job for life so as pressured as he felt there its going to be 100 times worse at Wasps. He's probably got 2 seasons max to start having an impact before I imagine the board review him.

I agree with you Welshmushroom. Going to be a lot of pressure on Dai Young. The Wasps squad will struggle with strength in depth too.

He won't have the financial muscle at his disposal like Leicester,Saracens,Bath and Saints have.

His first objective should be qualifying for the HC and go from there.

They've signed up Matt Everard the England under 20 to help cover their backrow injuries but I'm just not convinced they have a strong enough squad and won't have unless they can secure new revenue streams. At the heart of that they need bigger crowds and a better stadium would help that if they can ever get past the locals that seem to hate the sports clubs in Wycombe. A move back to London might also help as might getting back into the HEC places but that is going to be a very tough ask with Tigers, Sarries, Saints, Gloucester, Bath, Exeter and London Irish all likely to be up there this season.

Its a good coaching team, but not so good on the players.

I voted yes.

And no.

Ooh, don't know. I reckon they've made some decent signings. Thompson and Wentzel are masterstrokes who should sort the line-out issues which have dogged Wasps for years. Also Thompson will hopefully help Lindsay develop into the international he has the potential to be.

Elsewhere I think Bell and Flutey will make up one of the better AP centre partnerships. Then you've got a couple of reasonable FHs (look what Saints achieved with Myler), an experienced FB and a promising prop.

They also have some of the best young players at any AP club, and they should be able to make more of a contribution this season Launchbury is a future international, as is Daly, and if Vunipola is well coached he is going to be a monster.

The backrow injuries are a shame, particularly the loss of Rees, but I think they will go ok. They aren't going to jump straight into the top 4, but I think Young knows this is a medium term project.

DaveM wrote:Ooh, don't know. I reckon they've made some decent signings. Thompson and Wentzel are masterstrokes who should sort the line-out issues which have dogged Wasps for years. Also Thompson will hopefully help Lindsay develop into the international he has the potential to be.

Elsewhere I think Bell and Flutey will make up one of the better AP centre partnerships. Then you've got a couple of reasonable FHs (look what Saints achieved with Myler), an experienced FB and a promising prop.

They also have some of the best young players at any AP club, and they should be able to make more of a contribution this season Launchbury is a future international, as is Daly, and if Vunipola is well coached he is going to be a monster.

The backrow injuries are a shame, particularly the loss of Rees, but I think they will go ok. They aren't going to jump straight into the top 4, but I think Young knows this is a medium term project.

If I were a Wasps fan, this is one of things I'd be most encouraged by. They generally have good representation at age grade level. They’ve got a good track record of developing the potential of talented player. The fact that Waldouck, Simpson, Haskell and Cipriani have gained international representation supports this.

They’ve already got the bones of a young and competitive team. It will be interesting to see if some of the players can kick on and become really good club/international players.