Dai cancels Christmas as another Wasps loss cranks up pressure
FORMER Wales skipper Dai Young has ‘cancelled Christmas’ with Wasps fans calling for his head in the wake of their Gallagher Premiership defeat to Harlequins on Saturday.
Their 28-22 loss at the Ricoh Arena was their fifth reverse in six Gallagher Premiership games and a 10th in 14 matches in all competitions.
Saracens’ 35-point deduction for breaching salary cap regulations sees the Premiership and European champions propping up the table on minus 13 points.
Leicester Tigers are next up on four with Wasps just two points ahead of the Welford Road outfit.
They face a daunting trip to Bristol Bears on Friday, with fans going on social media calling for coaching changes after blowing a 17-point lead against Quins in front of a 24,842 Ricoh Arena crowd.
And Wasps director of rugby Young admitted it’s going to be anything but a festive period at the club as they grapple with the major slump in form.
The long-serving Welshman revealed his hurt for the Wasps fans and to club owner Derek Richardson following the latest defeat.
The former Cardiff Blues coach said: “Christmas is cancelled.
“I think everyone knows, it’s not just a job it’s a lifestyle, I think everyone knows what Wasps mean to me, I’ve been here a long time.
“It hurts when you’ve got 25,000 out there and we didn’t get the result they deserved.
“It hurts letting the owner down, who basically saved us from going bust.
“All the money that he’s put into the club supporting us and unfortunately I’m the man with the responsibility to turn that around.
“That’s a responsibility that weighs heavy and a responsibility that you can’t just park unfortunately. I’m hugely disappointed. It was a fantastic occasion, a fantastic crowd, my biggest emotion is letting the supporters down and letting the owner down.
“Quins started to chase the game, we seemed to make one or two errors and the belief starts to drain out of us, our heads dropped far too easily instead of moving onto the next thing.
“People make mistakes, but you’ve got to dust yourselves off and come back.”
But some Wasps fans are demanding coaching changes amid fears the club could be hurtling towards Premiership relegation despite Sarries’ current predicament.
Here’s a taste of some of the reaction from Wasps fans to the latest defeat... charityswimmer: Dai and entire coaching team have to go. Respect him for previous years, but he’s probably been here two seasons too long. Nostalgia and what could have beens will mean absolutely nothing if/ when we find ourselves in the Championship next year.
Paula arthur photo: I believe in investing time and patience with a squad and a coaching staff – but things haven’t been right since the Premiership Final loss and the time has come for Dai to go – he has no idea how to fix the club’s problems. crisis point: Dai and his team have a lot of soul searching to do – can they cut it? The R word looms.
Yorkie In The Mids: Poor coaching choices and dire recruitment are to blame. It’s just rumbling on and has been since the final loss. Trying to plaster over the cracks with fancy-name signings isn’t going to work. w2aps: Time for a change. Perhaps the result and short-term pain is for the greater good.