Dai: Next four games will define our season
WASPS’ season will be determined by a ‘massive’ set of four games – starting with an eagerly-anticipated return to the Stoop on Sunday.
That is the view of director of rugby Dai Young ahead of heading to Harlequins after his side surrendered a 21-point lead in London a month ago to be dumped out of Europe.
Tests against fellow play-off rivals Exeter Chiefs and Gloucester Rugby follow before the visit of struggling London Irish to the Ricoh Arena.
“We have a block of four games now which will pretty much determine where we’re going to sit in the league,” said Young. “If we can get a good block of four games and get the results that we want, we should be sitting comfortably in the top four then and we can be pushing for the top two in the last three or four games.”
“If we don’t get these results right, we’re probably going to be fighting to get into that top four. So it’s massive set of games for us.”
After being drawn in the same European Champions Cup pool, Wasps and Quins have already gone to battle three times this season with the men from the Stoop winning twice to Wasps’ one win, October’s 41-10 cup success at the Ricoh Arena.
Both sides only have the Aviva Premiership on their minds after Wasps’ dramatic 33-28 loss courtesy of James Chisolm’s heartbreaking late score in mid-January.
“Us and Harlequins are getting a bit fed up of each other if I’m honest,” said Young. “You have to give them credit for their last perfzormance because we totally dominated the game for 55 minutes and let it slip and ultimately, it knocked us out of Europe.
“So I wouldn’t say we have a score to settle, but what it says to us is when you’re playing Quins, you have to play for 80 minutes and we’re certainly not going to win the game in 55 minutes.”
Us and Quins are getting a bit fed up of each other... We dominated the last game for 55 minutes and let it slip and ultimately, it knocked us out of Europe. Dai Young