Wasps will fight fire with fire
WASPS centre Gabi Lovobalavu predicts fireworks at Stade Marcel Deflandre as two sides fully committed to attack meet with their Champions Cup hopes at stake.
Wasps head into the clash five points behind the Top 14 leaders in Pool 1 and Lovobalavu, who spent nine years in France with Toulon and Bayonne, is primed for a ‘must-win’ battle. The Fijian told The
Rugby Paper: “La Rochelle only came out of the second division three years ago but they are a big team in France now and were top of the league last season.
“They’re one of the best supported teams and it’s always a full-house at their stadium. Their fans make a lot of noise and try to upset their opponents, so we must be ready.
“They also try to play a bit more rugby than most French teams. They’ve got big boys who can get over the advantage line but they also have very quick, dangerous backs
“They love attacking with ball in hand and doing off-loads, so it will be interesting because we’re probably the most dangerous attacking team in England at the moment.”
Skipper Joe Launchbury, right, returns to the Wasps side fresh from signing a new contract, replacing Kearnan Myall at lock, while tighthead Marty Moore replaces Jake Cooper-Woolley, who has had to withdraw due to a lower back strain. Springbok Juan De Jongh retains the No.13 jersey, meaning Lovobalavu remains on bench. However, the Fijian added: “I’m loving it at Wasps. When I got to France I was only 22 and things were very difficult to start with, but here everyone’s been welcoming from day one. “Things are a bit more structured here, which I like, and we do lots more speed and agility work than in France, where clubs concentrate more on the gym.
“We’ve worked hard on our attack and it’s really clicking now. We’re scoring lots of tries and winning, so confidence is high going into this match.”
Defeat today would wreck Wasps’ hopes of topping their Pool. Lovobalavu, 32, said: “It will be a good test, but we know that if we want to qualify for the quarterfinals we have to play our best rugby and win these next two games.”
New Zealand scrum-half Tawera Kerr-Barlow arrived too late to feature in this tie but La Rochelle still include three All Blacks in Jason Eaton, Victor Vito and Rene Ranger. Brock James starts at ten with Englishman Ryan Lamb on the bench.
La Rochelle have scored 32 league tries to Wasps’ 36 and Ranger said: “It’s great to play English teams and we expect a huge challenge from Wasps, they’re in great form. It’s an exciting competition to be involved in and we want to do well.”