Wasps will not take Newcastle Falcons lightly - Dai Young

Wasps rugby director Dai Young said his team will not be complacent when they take on Newcastle Falcons in their upcoming Aviva Premiership encounter at Kingston Park on Friday.

Currently, Wasps are placed second in the table and are tied with table toppers Saracens with 42 points but separated by point difference while Newcastle Falcons are positioned ninth with five wins from 11 matches.

A victory on Friday can take Wasps to the top of the table but Young said his club has not taken the victory for granted and is wary of the challenge Newcastle Falcons possess.

"The Christmas period is always a busy one and we've had two tight turnarounds ahead of what will be a big challenge for us on Friday night," the Wasps director of rugby said.

"It's a massive game for us. If you want to be achieving you have to be winning these kinds of games.

"It's never easy to pick up away wins, especially somewhere like Newcastle, but you have to beat sides below you if you want to be in there at the end of the season.

"Newcastle have taken a few sides by surprise this season with their determination to play an expansive game of rugby, but we had sight of them early on in this campaign and experienced first-hand just how dangerous they can be."

Wasps have rested Australia international Kurtley Beale and skipper Joe Launchbury while Kyle Eastmond will be making a start at inside centre.

Meanwhile, Newcastle Falcons rugby director Dean Richards has his task cut out as he aims for a top six finish.

"Wasps are no slouches, and their try-count is huge each game this season. They score a lot of tries," Richards said.

"Defensively they leak a lot of points, but at the same time their objective each game is to outscore the opposition, and score as many points as they possibly can."