Wasps Director Rugby of Dai Young spoke to Chris Heal ahead of the new Gallagher Premiership season.
Dai Young approaches us with a smile on his face.
“How we doing, guys?” he says as the Wasps boss nears the conclusion of his media duties.
It has been just over three months since Wasps were beaten by Saracens in the Premiership semi-final at Allianz Park and this weekend, the Midlands club kick-off the new campaign away to Worcester Warriors.
A tough pre-season has seen Wasps suffer defeats away at Connacht and Coventry whilst their sole victory came at the Ricoh Arena against Ulster last Friday evening.
Now, the serious business is set to get underway as Wasps look to put the frustration of the last two seasons behind them in a bid to clinch silverware this term.
It is fair to say that Wasps are certainly heading in the right direction under Young. Before 2016, Wasps had not finished inside the top four for eight years, but now they have appeared in the play-offs for the last three seasons.
The squad the Welshman has at the Ricoh continues to develop and they head into the 2018/19 campaign full of optimism and belief, but Young insists his side must improve this term.
“When you reflect on last season, it was a little bit disappointing, he told TRU.
“Not losing to Saracens in the semi-finals because they were a good team and to be honest, there is nothing to be ashamed about losing to Sarries at Allianz Park, but I don’t think we played consistently enough right through the season.
“When we sat down in pre-season, I reviewed the season with the players and I think they were a little bit shocked of how harsh the review was. Pretty much every area last season, I don’t believe, functioned the way I wanted it to.
“We had a poor start to the season, a solid middle part and then we stuttered towards the end really so for us, on reflection, last year wasn’t what we would’ve liked it to be. The season before we were better in every area than we were last season and it is as simple as that.
“This season is all about looking for improvements in every area really. Consistency in our attack, set-piece and defence is what we believe is going to be needed to get us to where we want to be.”
Wasps are not exactly going to be an unknown quantity this season, but Young has recruited heavily this summer - bringing in a mixture of world class stars as well as talent from the Championship.
The arrival of Brad Shields, Lima Sopoaga, Kieran Brookes and Nizaam Carr has added more firepower to Wasps whilst the likes of Michael Le Bourgeois, Ross Neal and Billy Searle provide quality, but also strength in depth.
In his first interview since landing in the UK Brad Shields discusses: ??Getting autographs from Jonah Lomu ??Settling in at Wasps ??Adapting to the English game #COYWhttps://t.co/mMgCmLPI6f
“We have spent lots of seasons where we haven’t been big enough,” Young said.
“We’ve tried to go around teams because we haven’t had that physicality or size to go through teams. We would like to think we have really recruited so we can do both.
“It doesn’t mean are going to drastically change the way we want to play. It gives us a bit more variation and a bit more bullets to fire.
“It is nice they [the new signings] have all come in with a bit of enthusiasm. I think when you look at all successful teams, they probably change 10 per cent of their players which is three or four.
“We have had to change a bit more than that which isn’t ideal, but they have all come in and fitted in really well. They all give us a bit more strength in depth.
“Our big stars are well recognised, but I think some of the Championship players which are coming into the squad will play their part during the season as well so I am really excited by the squad.”
And the “exciting squad” which Young eludes to has unfortunately already suffered a setback. Jimmy Gopperth is expected to be out for six to nine months with an ACL knee injury while Jake Cooper-Woolley and TJ Harris are side-lined with bicep ruptures.
The first big injury of Jimmy Gopperth’s career and a significant dent to Wasps’ hopes. ACL, 6-9 months.
However, Young feels that the team he has assembled going into the new campaign is the strongest he has ever had at Wasps.
He added: “Obviously, we have got a few injuries to start off which isn’t great. Every team has got them, but we believe we have got a real strong squad full of hungry players who want to push on this year.
“The Championship players will do that and some of our younger players have been at this level for two or three years now.
“They are competing at the top table so we believe they can get more experienced and more comfortable so we believe we have a squad that can compete. The proof will be in the pudding, but I am pretty confident.”
Young’s confidence will only be enhanced if Wasps can get off to a good start to this season. Last term, they lost four of their first six matches in the Premiership which immediately put them on the back foot when it came to challenging for honours.
Wasps’ progress is clear for all to see despite not adding any silverware into their trophy cabinet since 2008 and Young feels his side need to remain focused on reaching semi-finals and finals rather than obsessing over the big prize itself.
“We have got to learn from last season,” Young added. “It took us a long time to recover from our start.
“We had a really solid middle part of last season which took a lot out of us as a team because we needed results and when it got to the end of the season, on occasions, we looked a bit jaded.
“We need to learn from that and pick up as many points as possible and turn this place [Ricoh Arena], which it normally is for us, into a fortress.
“Hopefully we can get some real strong wins at home and sneak some away wins to put ourselves in a decent position because at some point, we have got to win something. We know that.
“From our point of view, we need to be there right at the end with a chance. If we have that chance, then there is no reason why we can’t do it.
“You look at Sarries. It took them seven years to get something. We are probably three of four years into it now so the sooner the better for us obviously, but we need to make sure we are in there to give us a chance first.”
Today, Wasps commence their quest for glory away at Worcester and their start to the season won’t be straightforward.
Following their trip to Sixways, Wasps’ first home fixture is against last year’s runners-up Exeter Chiefs before taking on Leicester Tigers, Sale Sharks, Newcastle Falcons and Gloucester, but Young’s attention is fully on their opening clash with Worcester, who finished 11th in the Premiership last year.
“Historically, they are towards the bottom of the table, but that doesn’t mean they are going to be at the bottom this season.
“If you look on paper, you don’t really want to be playing the teams which people perceive are going to be at the bottom early doors because they come out strong and full of enthusiasm and energy.
“You are better off playing them in the middle of the season, but you have got to play them all home and away so it doesn’t really matter.
“We know it will be a tough game for us, but if you want to be where you want to be at the end of the year, you have to go to a difficult place like Worcester and win.”
