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Wasps boss Dai Young was pleased to leave Bath with a win, on a day when the weather made it impossible for his team to impose their preferred attacking style.

Despite this, he was always felt Wasps were in control, despite never being able to build the type of lead which would have put them out of sight of their hosts.

“I thought we looked the better team, but we were never able to get away from them,” he said.

“We were never more than 10 or 11 points clear, and when you look across at the team they’ve got, you know they are always capable of coming back.

“So although I felt we were in control, I never felt comfortable or that we were out of sight.

“I don’t think we could expect the same type of rugby today as last week, in different conditions, but we have to be pleased with how we played and how we controlled things.

“I was pretty pleased with how we played the game, although there is room for improvement. At times in the first half we were a bit loose, spilled too many balls, and lacked the composure to go the extra phase by pushing the pass.

Match report:

“We had a lot of territory but played too much around the half way line. We struggled to break Bath down, as their line-speed was impressive, they won a lot of collisions and we found it hard to get much penetration.

“We talked at half time about keeping playing, and we had the wind which made things a bit easier for us.

“Bath then had to decide whether they were going to get up in our faces or hang back for the kicks. I always thought the chances would come our way if we kept playing, and that was pretty much the case.”

Five consecutive wins have moved Wasps ahead of Leicester and into the top three for the first time this season, but with nine matches remaining Young is keeping his feet firmly on the ground.

“We’ve had two good wins and gone from ninth to third,” he said, “and what I’ve said to the players is two defeats will take us from third back to ninth just as quickly.

“We have to keep the momentum going, and although a lot of people are talking about top four, we’ll only do that in the last month if we’ve got a chance of being there.

“Our target for the season is to be a consistent top six team, as we have only been there once in seven or eight years.

“We want to be at the top table in Europe, so the target is top six, but if we can get to the last month of the season with a chance, we will give it a real crack.”

Despite receiving a late yellow card, Young’s son Thomas was a man-of-the-match contender on Wasps’ openside flank, and while acknowledging his contribution, Young Senior was keen to praise the contribution of his squad as a whole.

“Thomas is doing well,” he said, “but hasn’t he got a fantastic bloke to learn from in George Smith?

“Even when he hasn’t been in the side, just training with someone as good as George week-in, week-out has helped him get better.

“But Thomas has really played well when he has been given opportunities, as has everyone else. I’ve been really pleased with the squad, as over the Six Nations period it’s not just about your first 23.

“We’ve rotated two or three players most weeks to try and keep everyone involved and fresh, without ripping the heart out of the team or losing continuity in selection.”

Bath director of rugby Mike Ford was equally impressed by Wasps’ veteran Aussie’s contribution, as well as their wider attacking threat.

“George Smith is a handful for anybody,” he said, “defensively he is good and he is very cute in attack, with good rugby awareness.

“They have threats all over the park and at the moment are playing with real confidence.”

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