Jimmy Gopperth credits Dai Young for Wasps' revival

Wasps fly-half Jimmy Gopperth has credited rugby director Dai Young for his club's revival in the last few years.

Wasps last won a Aviva Premiership title in 2007/08 season and since then in the next seven seasons they have managed positions of five or above in the group stages before reviving themselves to a third and first position finish in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons respectively.

Gopperth was a part of the Newcastle side that almost relegated Wasps out of the top tier following their 14-10 victory in the final round of 2011/12 season but instead it was Falcons, that finished last with the home side managing a 11th finish to help them stay in contention in the Aviva Premiership.

Recalling the encounter, Gopperth felt the way Wasps managed to retain themselves in the top tier was crucial to their revival.

"It's surreal to think how close Wasps were to going under," Gopperth told Press Association Sport, looking back to that final-day relegation scrap five years ago.

"It's bizarre how things work, that if things had been different they might not be here, and neither would I."

At one stage the club was struggling to meet with the regular expenses but Young refused to quit from his post and the turn around came in 2013 when Irish businessman Derek Richardson became principal shareholder of Wasps that also saw the purchase of Ricoh Arena as their home venue that helped them register second highest turnover in Europe.

Gopperth, who moved to Leinster from Newcastle before joining Wasps in 2015, lauded Young for sticking with the club during tough phases. 

"I have to give huge credit to Dai," said Gopperth, whose stellar campaign yielded the golden boot and a trio of player of the season awards.

"He stuck there from that day, and kept a whole host of stars at the club when anyone would snap them up.

"There were times when maybe they weren't getting paid, but they stuck with them, they stuck with Dai and I think those guys will feel a lot of pride that they've built upwards from then.

"I'm just fortunate enough to be here in the good times. But to see them where they came from in that game, it's immense.

"Relegation changes people's lives, I saw it with Newcastle. I was only fortunate that the Falcons had the finances to come back, and they are doing wonders now.

"But anyone who has come here new, everyone knows what Dai and those players have had to go through. It's grounding.

"We want to push for silverware and we're in the right position now, so Saturday's going to be an awesome event."