Johnson out to prove Wasps can defend
WASPS have built a reputation as the most lethal attack in the Premiership, but Ashley Johnson has revealed they are desperate to prove they can defend just as well.
Hitting the half-century of points in their opening games against Sale left little doubt that the highflying Wasps who reached the Premiership final last season were back in business – but Worcester caused them huge problems last Sunday.
Wasps were forced to rely on their defence for most of the game until two late tries secured a 24-10 win which, ahead of today’s clash against Harlequins, gave Johnson and his teammates the confidence to back themselves when they don’t have the ball.
“We’ve got great attacking players and we know we can score a lot of tries but we got criticised last season for leaking too may tries,” Johnson told The Rugby Paper.
“We are aware of that criticism but if anything we’re our own worst critics. We’re desperate to change that perception and prove we can be as good defending as we are attacking.
“We worked really hard over the summer to make sure we got our defence up to the same standards. Worcester threw everything at us last week but our defence was really good and we only conceded one try.
“We know we’re not always going to score 50 points in this league so we have to make sure we keep it really tight in defence and we took a lot of confidence from last week.
“We didn’t play anywhere close to our standards against Worcester but we managed to get the job done and that’s what matters.
“The conditions were really tough but we pulled through so there’s plenty of positives to take from that game regardless of the performance.
“I’d be silly to say we’re not thinking about winning the Premiership after coming so close last season but at the same time we know everyone is improving year on year and we need to do the same. We’re hoping we’ll get to qualify for the semi-finals and we’ll take it from there.”
With Wasps and Quins paired in the same Champions Cup pool, the two will get to know each other really well over the next few months.
Johnson added: “We’re going to play Quins four times this season so we’re going to get to know them really well. One thing is certain though – it’s going to be a tough game.
“We beat them at home but we lost towards the end of last season. They’re a very good attacking team and even if we’re two from two right now we know that perfect record is going to be challenged come Sunday.
“We have to keep our foot on the pedal. We did some good stuff so far but we have also plenty to work on. We’re nowhere near where we want to be so we’ve got to put in a good performance.”