Cipriani injury will not affect Wasps’ focus
WASPS hooker Tom Cruse insists neither last week’s disappointing home defeat to Harlequins nor the loss of playmaker Danny Cipriani will diminish his side’s adventure as they look to avenge last season’s Premiership final defeat to Exeter.
With Cipriani out for 12 weeks with medial ligament damage and Wasps nursing wounds after a first home league reverse in 20 months, Dai Young’s charges might be forgiven a conservative approach. However, Cruse told The
Rugby Paper: “It’s a shame for Danny but we’ll stick to our guns and play the way we play. We’ve talked about the need to exit a bit better after Harlequins but we play the positive, attacking way we do for a reason.
“We feel we put ourselves in with the best chance of winning games by attacking teams and although Exeter will be physical and will look to get at us up front, we’ll look to match them in that department and take the game to them.
“Sandy Park’s renowned as one of the hardest places to go, but nobody in this league is 100 per cent anymore which shows the quality across the competition. We were disappointed with the Harlequins result but aim to bounce back.”
With a long-term knee injury to Tommy Taylor handing Cruse the chance of an extended first-team run, the former Rotherham, Sale and London Irish man is relishing the opportunity to establish himself in a titlechallenging Wasps side.
He explained: “Being relegated with London Irish was rotten because, as you can imagine, it was pretty tough physically and mentally fighting at the bottom of the table, so last season at Wasps was completely the opposite end of the scale.
“Winning more games than you are losing just makes things so much easier mentally; you don’t feel as sore and reviews are easier to get through.
“An ankle injury held me back but I still got plenty of games and coming into this season knowing Tommy had picked up a pretty big injury meant I knew I’d get more. You don’t wish injury on anybody but chances do come from them.”
Last season’s agonising 23-20 final defeat to Exeter has made Wasps determined to go one better, with Cruse adding: “We just got pipped at the post in a game that came down to one kick, but the learning was massive and we’ve moved on.
“The league’s far too good to dwell on last year’s events and, having tasted that loss, we feel like we’re in a better place experiencewise.”
Jimmy Gopperth returns to the line-up at No.10. Willie Le Roux misses out through a hamstring strain, while Gaby Lovobalavu is sidelined by a calf injury.