Hughes returns to bolster pack power
WASPS are boosted by the return of England No.8 Nathan Hughes for a match they must win to keep their Champions Cup hopes alive, according to prop Simon McIntyre.
Wasps were put to the sword last week by La Rochelle, with the Top 14 pacesetters producing outstanding rugby to lead 30-12 at the break, before Dai Young’s side recovered to grab what may turn out to be a critical losing bonus point in a sobering 49-29 defeat. McIntyre told The Rugby
Paper: “We’re under no illusions that this is a mustwin game, but we’ll back ourselves at home. This is knock-out rugby now but we’ve got a fantastic opportunity to grab this by the scruff of the neck if we stick to our attitude of attack.
“There’s a lot of talk about La Rochelle winning the French title this year, but we’re more than confident with the team and attack we’ve got and the big plus from last week is that we scored five tries ourselves and bagged what could yet be a crucial try bonus point.”
Hughes replaces Nizaam Carr in an otherwise unchanged Wasps starting XV.
McIntyre demands a fast start, adding: “We thought we had a game plan to do a job out there and we put lots of emphasis on our start, but they’re a quality side and instead it was us that came under a lot of heat in the first 20 minutes and we couldn’t ride the storm.
“At this level of competition defence is going to be tested and it’s something we also need to focus on because today’s game will still be about limiting their opportunities. We saw how dangerous they can be from turnovers and we need to better at holding the ball.”
Wasps’ forwards held their own last week, with McIntyre’s battle against outsized French tight-head Uini Atonio a particular highlight. McIntyre said: “They’ve got huge guys but we felt we did well at scrum and lineout and we’ll be looking to repeat that. As a pack we definitely matched-up so we need to go again and feed our backline with more good ball.”
Ryan Lamb starts at flyhalf for La Rochelle who, in stark contrast to Wasps, make eight changes: Gabriel Lacroix and Rene Ranger start on the wings with Paul Jordaan at outside-centre, while Hikairo Forbes, Romain Sazy, Afa Amosa and Kevin Gourdon freshen up the pack.
La Rochelle centre Geoffrey Doumayrou is wary of a Wasps backlash. He said: “In scoring five tries they showed they have character and are a dangerous team. We have 15 points so let’s go for the win, but I feel we must get at least one point from this game.”