The last time that Wasps were the dominant force in English rugby, Shaun Edwards had a maxim: defences win titles. Dai Young has been trying to flip that received wisdom on its head this season, but his faith in his exhilarating brand of rugby must be wavering right now.

Coming into the final round of Aviva Premiership regular-season matches, you would expect most title contenders to be coming to the boil. Exeter are unbeaten in the league since October and have won each of their past seven matches with a bonus point. Saracens are in their customary end-of-season steamroller mode. Even Leicester, assuming nothing untoward happens against Worcester, are looking good.

Wasps have been far less convincing. I am not sure whether they have run out of steam or lost their way. They have been top of the table virtually all season, but defeat against a second-string Saracens on Saturday would almost certainly spell an away semi-final.

Their 32-13 defeat by Harlequins last week was especially concerning. They had the fewest number of carries of all Premiership sides last week and won only eight gain-line collisions. Two of their best ball-carriers, No8 Nathan Hughes and centre Alapati Leiua, were on the bench, while Alex Rieder, who has been a real unsung hero for them this season, did not even make it that far. If your ball-carriers cannot make an impact on the game, neither can your ball-players. Christian Wade is the league’s leading try-scorer, but he touched the ball just twice in 60 minutes against Quins.