I’m going to keep this post relatively brief and I am writing this following an excellent home result against Exeter. Not just an excellent result, but an excellent performance where Wasps forwards were brave, ferocious and dynamic. An absolute joy to watch, though like so many I can’t wait for the day when I can see them play again in person.
For a variety of reasons, some circumstantial, others more strategic and down to some bold selection calls, Wasps now have a squad that offers real depth. Injuries are inevitable so a big pool of players is always required, but I want you to imagine for a minute that those have miraculously cleared up and Wasps were to name this team for their next game against Bath.
- Ben Harris
- Gabriel Oghre
- Biyi Alo
- Levi Douglas
- Tim Cardall
- Alfie Barbeary
- Sione Vailang
- Brad Shields
- Ben Vellacott
- Rob Miller
- Marcus Watson
- Ryan Mills
- Malakai Fekitoa
- Zach Kibirige
- Matteo Minozzi
That’s a pretty decent starting fifteen and what’s better still is that many of these players are actually available, and most who aren’t will be very shortly. Not one of these lads was in the matchday 23 today. Not one. Wasps have some serious options and it is great to see.
Now we are into January we are going to start to see some announcement regarding incomings and outgoings. We know that Will Rowlands is off, and there seems to be a lot of talk that Tim Cardall will be departing too. With Joe Launchbury often on international duty, second row is clearly an area that is going to require some significant reinforcements. I also wonder if we might see Brad Shields starting to feature more there too? I just hope that the days of high player turnover are starting to come to an end, so Wasps can continue this momentum.
Finally, a personal one. For many 2020 will go down as their worst years of their lives. I enjoy taking on a challenge so in 2021 thought I’d take a reasonably demanding one for the year to help support potentially the hidden impact of Covid-19 – people’s mental health. If you would like to, I’d welcome any donations, and will keep you posted on my progress – #run1000walk1000raise1000. You can read further details here.
Thanks for reading and happy new year to you and yours. Keep well. We will meet again soon!
Allez Allez Allez! 