Malakai is ready to mix it for Wasps in semi-final
MALAKAI Fekitoa is ‘back in the mix’ for Wasps ahead of Saturday’s European Challenge Cup semi-final against Lyon.
The former All Blacks ace (right) missed out on the quarter-final victory over Edinburgh following the birth of his daughter who was born six weeks early just a few days before the lasteight clash.
“He was busy starting to learn how to put nappies on and everything,” said head coach Lee Blackett. “He’ll be back in the mix as well, but we’re in a pretty good place actually.
“As much as Mala wanted to play, it was the right decision for him and his family.”
In his absence, academy graduate Sam Spink was handed a first start in two months and impressed in the thrilling 34-30 victory that kept Wasps’ hopes of silverware this season alive. Who wears the number 13 at the Matmut Stadium presents the Wasps boss with a selection dilemma.
“I thought he [Spink] played really well,” said Blackett. “I’ve been really happy with Spinky throughout the season. I thought he put in a really good performance and he’s making that decision at 13 a difficult one this week. Do you go with the experience, the guy who’s been there and done it at the biggest stage – we’re talking about being in winning World Cups. Or do you go with a guy who’s showed a lot of form and played really well and got us there? There will be difficult decisions.”
Wasps are on an eight-game unbeaten run stretching back to the defeat to Northampton Saints more than two months ago. The unavailability list that regularly hit the
high teens and early twenties in the first half of the season has now shrunk to just a handful of players.
“I think there’s been a lot of positive performances recently that have made a few selections a fraction easier,” said Blackett.
“There’s other ones, there’s guys in training who are really pushing for it. We’re in pretty good health, but I don’t want to jinx it but we’re pretty pleased with where we’re at.”
Wasps’ pack in particular has seen very few changes with props Biyi Alo and Tom West, locks Joe Launchbury and Elliott Stooke and flankers Brad Shields and Jack Willis starting all of their last six front-line games. The continuity is helping to deliver results, according to Blackett.
Discussing the Edinburgh win, he said: “We went with a certain game plan but the forwards seemed to get hold of that game, that was the pleasing thing for that win – how the forwards found the way to win, and never came off it.
“When you have a lack of injuries, how hard we can train during a week and work on our game, we’re seeing real improvements in that part of our game. It definitely helps on the weekend, that’s for sure.”