Dai faces tough task to lift shell-shocked troops

DAI Young conceded he has a ‘difficult task’ to lift his Wasps squad after a week from hell.

In the space of six days, Wasps shipped 87 points in two heavy defeats, lost Dan Robson and Joe Launchbury until next year with injuries while a third key player, Nathan Hughes, picked up a suspension pending a second disciplinary hearing this week.

The 52-3 loss in Dublin to Leinster was Wasps’ worst ever defeat in Europe, with eight tries being conceded at the RDS against the competition’s reigning champions.

“I have to find a way to get some positivity back into the boys,” said the director of rugby.

“It’s a difficult task now but in the week we have to look at some of the positives and build on them.”

Fellow Pool 1 rivals Bath and Toulouse met at the Rec with the French side profiting from Freddie Burns late’ penalty miss and sensational spurning of a try while showboating.

With the two English clubs in the group winless, their Ricoh Arena round two match-up is critical for both side’s chances of progression.

“It’s a huge game for us,” said Young. “We have to win next week otherwise we’re under real pressure.

“We have to dust ourselves off. You lose by ten points or 50 points, you still get nothing. Next week [Bath] was always going to be a huge game for ■■Robson’s injury - October 6 Minutes before half-time, England hopeful Dan Robson hobbles off the field of play against Gloucester in agony. ■■Cipriani masterclass - October 6 - Former Wasps star Danny Cipriani pulls the strings as Gloucester win 35-21 at the Ricoh. ■■Wille le Roux on the move? October 7 - The Rugby Paper reports that Willie le Roux is to move back to Japan after the World Cup. ■■Injury nightmare - October 8 Dai Young reveals that Joe Launchbury could undergo surgery if there is any further problems with his knee ■■Nathan Hughes cited - October 9 - Wasps number eight Nathan Hughes is cited for a last-minute punch against Gloucester.

Trouble looms - October 11 - The RFU reveals that a second hearing for Hughes will be held ‘to deal with an issue that arose during the us.” With Launchbury, Robson and Hughes adding to an unavailable list that stretched into double figures, at least eight players who would stake a strong case to be in Wasps’ best 15 were not at Young’s disposal.

The Welshman didn’t use this as an excuse for the capitulation at the RDS, Wasps boss Dai Young instead placing his focus on what lies ahead this weekend.

“Our luck is pretty consistent - it’s pretty bad. We don’t get many breaks. But there’s no point us looking at ifs and maybes.

“I’ve said previously when you play in big competitions and at the top table of European rugby, you need a bit of luck, which hasn’t been the case.

“I don’t want to focus too much on that because we have to dust ourselves off and come up with a better performance next week, which I’m confident we can do.”

Dejected Wasps players after the Leinster mauling which was club’s worst ever loss in Europe

PICTURE: SCOTT WIGGINS Both men received five minutes for fighting.The the first period ended scoreless but the deadlock was finally broken in the second at 24.04 when Justin Hache found the back of the net on a power play. The Blaze then doubled their lead just over three minutes later when Tim Crowder finished off a great passing move at 27.23.However, the Blaze’s two-goal lead lasted just 17 seconds before the Storm pulled one back through Dallas Ehrhardt at 27.40. And following a spell of Blaze pressure the Storm tied things up at 32.31 with a goal from Ciaran Long. But with the second period winding down the Blaze retook the lead through Ben Lake at 38.22.With both teams searching for the win, it was the Blaze who scored first in the third period making it 4-2 through Luke Ferrara at 50.42. But the Storm struck back less than three minutes later with a power play goal from Luke Moffatt at 53.04. However, the Blaze’s Norwegian defenceman Bryhnisveen finally secured the win at 58.09 with a bullet of a slap shot. Blaze captain and man-of-the-match Kevin Morris said: “It was important that we got a win at home.”