How Wasps Went From the Brink of Bankruptcy to Title Contention

Not long ago, Coventry’s Wasps were a league laughingstock. Now they’ve won six games in a row. Martyn Thomas explains the club’s startling turnaround.

Wasps remain a club on the brink in the Aviva Premiership, but where once they feared the unknown, their fans are now ready to embrace a bright future.

It was not long ago that the club stood on the precipice, staring relegation and bankruptcy full in the face. The club beat the drop – just – in 2012, and secured their future financially last season when they relocated to Coventry.

That move proved controversial initially but it has reinvigorated Wasps, swelling their coffers off the pitch and their confidence on it.

Sunday saw director of rugby Dai Young’s men win for the sixth successive Premiership match: a feat the club had not managed since their last championship-winning campaign eight years ago.

It also highlighted one of the anomalies of professional rugby in Europe. Wasps’ run has not only been aided by a shift in attitude at the club; the fact  their squad has been left relatively untouched by the Six Nations has also been key.

“We’ve got to be realistic,” Young admitted following their 42-10 defeat of Harlequins. “Quins have a lot more players missing than we have.”

Wasps head coach Dai Young, and a surprisingly cheery-looking Harlequins head coach Conor O’Shea.

Indeed they did. Wasps, for their part, were without captain James Haskell, lock Joe Launchbury and man of the moment Elliot Daly, who all played for England at Twickenham 24 hours earlier.

But Young could still call on an experienced starting XV that included the likes of former Wallaby George Smith – a player of the year contender – Nathan Hughes, Charles Piutau, and Christian Wade.

The combination of Smith and Hughes, alongside the coach’s son Thomas, proved far too much for a Harlequins back row robbed of both Jack Clifford and Chris Robshaw.

It should come as no surprise, therefore, that Wasps are peaking when they are. Young, in control of the continent’s second wealthiest club thanks to its ownership of the Ricoh Arena, has assembled a talented squad designed to withstand the pressures of this time of year.

Six Nations commitments in spring have long affected the fortunes of clubs who supply the bulk of international talent.

Saracens, for example, remain top of the Premiership and in control of their own destiny, but their lead has shrunk with the likes of Jamie George, George Kruis, Maro Itoje and the Vunipola brothers donning the white of England, rather than Sarries black.

Wasps ruthlessly took advantage of Mark McCall’s absentees a fortnight ago, running in 10 tries during a 64-23 win at Allianz Park. Saracens are not used to losing on their own patch, let alone in such fashion.

Six successive wins have propelled Wasps up the table and into third following an indifferent start to the domestic campaign that saw them win just three of their first eight league games.

Young is not keen to talk about a possible top four finish – let alone silverware – just yet, but that is exactly what the club should be aiming for.

Europe had proved a happier hunting ground while Premiership form alluded his side, with their dominant Champions Cup win over Toulon last November hinting at things to come.

That 32-6 victory was not quite a changing of the guard but it proved Young and his squad were moving in the right direction, as they overpowered the team whose blueprint they appear to have copied.

Toulon have cleared up in France and on the continent over the past five years, backed by a larger-than-life owner whose deep pockets have built a star-studded squad of the highest order.

The big-spending Top 14 club has too many world class players to list – Matt Giteau, Ma’a Nonu and Duane Vermaelen are just three – but crucially they have supplied just two players to France coach Guy Noves’ Six Nations squad.

Indeed, their bounty is so plentiful that owner Mourad Boudjellal has allowed both Quade Cooper and Bryan Habana time away from France to pursue their Olympic Sevens dreams.

Wasps have already started shopping in the same boutiques as Boudjellal, missing out on Wales fullback Leigh Halfpenny only to steal Danny Cipriani from under his nose.

Cipriani is an interesting case as he continues to reside in the international wilderness, and his return to the club that launched his career could turn out to be a successful one for all concerned.

That said, Wasps should not rest on their laurels. Charles Piutau has already agreed to join Ulster for the 2016-17 season and there could be a bigger problem lurking around the corner.

No. 8 Hughes has been a revelation since arriving in the UK from Auckland in 2013, and it has been signposted since Stuart Lancaster’s days as England coach that once he qualifies for the national team, he will be picked.

Hughes will achieve that, through residency, following the summer tour of Australia, making him available for England’s autumn internationals and the 2017 Six Nations. Young and his bosses will then have to decide whether to stick or twist.

Does the club attempt to cover the potential loss of their star back-row with players already at the club, or do they make a real statement and bring in another blockbuster player to compete alongside Hughes, Haskell and Smith? It is pretty easy to assume what Boudjellal would do.

Wasps have come a long way in a short space of time, and the potential for the club could be immeasurable. But how much they achieve from here could well depend on how much they are willing to spend, and on whom.