Want the best Coventry and Warwickshire news delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up here! Sign up here! Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Wasps’ landmark first win at Franklin’s Gardens since 2005, which followed hot on the heels of their qualification for the European Cup quarter finals, has doubtless put a smile on many faces since Friday.

Even director of rugby Dai Young was in cheery mood after the game, when he offered a couple of thought-provoking opinions on his team’s development, and his strategy for dealing this uniquely testing post-World Cup campaign.

After stringing together a promisng run during the autumn, Wasps lost four of their five games during December, before winning three of their four in January. Young recognised greater consistency is essential, but said there is no shortcut to achieving it.

Match report:

“The reality is we are still learning physically and mentally to cope with the week-in, week-out intensity of rugby at this level,” the former Wales prop said. We’re still not a good enough side to play at 60 or 70 per cent and that’s been proven in the Premiership.

“It is tough to back up in the league after big highs in Europe, and that’s something this group of players has to learn, because not many of them have been in that type of environment, playing huge games week after week.

“Europe is not far off international intensity, and for the players to back up after that is hard. Even if you look at the big teams, like Saracens, they have taken a couple of years to do it, and we may have to as well.

“We’ve really enjoyed the last two weeks in Europe, they were fantastic occasions. It took us ten months and 22 games last season to get ourselves into the competition, and we want to make sure we’re there again.

“So we’ve got a responsibility now, we’ve got a quarter final to look forward to, but more importantly we’ve got to make sure we’re in the top six to have another crack at it next season.”

(Image: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Wasps’ starting line-up at Northampton showed no fewer than nine changes from the XV which kicked off against Leinster six days previously. This situation was partly driven by injuries to Charles Piutau, Joe Simpson and Sam Jones, but also by the international calls received by seven of Young’s squad.

Five of these players returned to the club last Wednesday, and Young said he recognised that the decision to include only Ruaridh Jackson, who was on the bench, at Northampton would be viewed in some quarters as being something of a gamble. However, Wasps’ boss believes it is important for him not to lose sight of longer-term objectives when making selection decisions.

Read more:

“It was my decision not to involve the international players,” he said. “I think you have to do the sensible thing, and Matt Mullan and Elliot Daly have pretty much started every game for us this season.

“We patched up a bit to get through the two games in Europe, and while we have a responsibility to the club, we also have one to the players. That’s what we have a squad for, and the players who stepped in at Northampton took responsibility, as did the guys who played over the previous two weeks in Europe.

“If we’d lost I’m sure there would have been questions asked, but we need to get the best out of the players. For instance, two weeks’ ago, with James Haskell and Joe Launchbury, if it had been a cup final perhaps they could have played, but it was wise not to play them, and look at their performances against Leinster.

“You’ve got to be sensible, and you’ve got to have a squad, so you don’t play guys who are carrying bumps, who then end up being out for a lot longer.

“That said, there’s no doubt it makes it easier when the other players stand up, and if they don’t you bring a lot of pressure on yourself.”