By Chris Wearmouth
February 10 2006

The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Mooloo “Oggie, oggie, oggie. Wasps! Wasps! Wasps!” A self-congratulatory round of applause. Blimey everyone, it’s a chant! At a rugby match! Deserving of a round of applause, you’ll agree.

 

At least since the folks at Wasps imported a shed-load of mooloo bells from Bruce’s old stomping ground, the clapping has been replaced by a sound more reminiscent of a Julie Andrews film.

 

Wasps and ‘The Sound Of Music’ share a place in my heart. At the back, under the dustsheet, behind the collection of records that should never have had my hard-earned pennies spent on them. Still, I learnt not to scrape the bottom of the Woollies bargain bin a long time ago. It’s a lesson I’ve still to take to heart when it comes to rugby.

 

The Wycombe mob are, believe it or not, my local team. And last season work commitments sent me there almost as much as much as Franklin’s Gardens. But I could never warm to them; never change clubs for the sake of a few saved miles each week. It’s not that there aren’t many committed people who support that club. In fact since they moved to the Causeway Wasps have a more solid fanbase than they ever did in West London. Anyone who ever visited Loftus Road can testify to that.

 

But it’s more than that. Maybe it’s their knack of winning the big prizes when we, the ‘bigger’ club in terms of fans and revenue, spend our time waiting in the lobby of Heartbreak Hotel for the bus that never shows. Maybe it’s because they have players of the calibre and commitment as Lawrence Dallaglio who we’d all love to have playing for us.

 

I can’t put my finger on why I don’t like Wasps. I definitely know that I don’t like getting there. On TV the Causeway looks like it’s set in a serene middle-England – or even Alpine foothill – setting. So imagine the surprise of the first-time visitor upon finding out that it’s at the end of an industrial estate’s cul-de-sac. It’s the hanging around that gets me the most, especially in the queue to get out of that place licking the wounds of another Wycombe whipping.

 

It used to be that matches with Wasps were either our being on the receiving end of a thumping or scraping a narrow win, thanks in the most part to dubious Welsh refereeing decisions. (For the record, that penalty was completely and utterly awarded in the correct place.) In the past couple of seasons, however, they’ve managed to turn the narrow wins in their favour as well. The last three Premiership encounters have been, in order, an October 2004 one-point defeat at the Gardens, founded on some fantastic defence and Saintly inability in attack; a 30-point thumping at Wycombe that’s better left forgotten; and a 13-21 defeat earlier this season that owed much to an injury to John Rudd and Los’s ambition in going for the bonus point from within our 22.

 

Couple these with the play-off defeat in Wayne Smith’s last match and you can start to see that I don’t like Wasps for rational, as well as gut feeling, reasons. We’re due a result, and this weekend I think we’re going to get one. Here’s why.

 

1.We’re on a roll. A good one. Nay, a GREAT one that has seen us move steadily up the Premiership table since the turn of the year, completely under the radar.

 

2. We had a shocking performance last time out. Mind you, so did they…

 

3. Worsley. Dawson. Dallaglio. O’Connor. Reddan. Voyce. Shaw. Ibanez. Lewsey. (9)

Lamont. Thompson. Cohen. (3)

 

4. We’re playing on a Sunday. We were founded by a vicar. The two go hand in hand, surely?

 

5. I’ll be wearing my lucky boots, even though I’ll be at the Madstad watching Jonny come off the bench to get crocked again. It’s for one of my other jobs, before you ask.

 

So I’m grabbing straws with the last one, and the one before that, for that matter. But the first three points are perfectly valid.

 

Winning is infectious, as much as losing. Our high-profile losing run in the first couple of months has been turned a full 180 degrees into a streak that sees all our results bar one since the beginning of December with big fat ‘W’s beside our name. And when you add one more apiece courtesy of the academy and Wanderers you can see the spirit that’s flowing through the club at the minute.

 

Or spurut. Yup, our Kiwis are still in town, not bothering themselves with any of this Six Nations nonsense. Wasps’ famous policy of bringing on home-grown talent, on the other hand, backfires somewhat during the international season when half their side gets called up. Yes, they managed to beat us at the Gardens during the autumn internationals but then they had Dallaglio in their side: a man savvy enough to notice that Ruddy was struggling badly with an injury and that the next attack should go down his wing. Wasps indeed scored through Reddan, but it was Dallaglio’s vision that set up the try. He will be a big miss for Wasps.

 

Wally, the talisman of recent weeks, may also be in Rome, but his replacement Dan Richmond has a massive point to prove, as does Rudd, who starts on the wing.

 

As Yoda might say, should he be drafted in by BBC Northampton to summarise: “The force is strong with these ones.” These ones being:

 

15 Robbie Kydd
14 John Rudd
13 Jon Clarke
12 DAVID QUINLAN
11 BRUCE REIHANA (capt)
10 CARLOS SPENCER
9 MARK ROBINSON
1 TOM SMITH
2 Dan Richmond
3 Chris Budgen
4 Damien Browne
5 Matt Lord
6 PAUL TUPAI
7 Ben Lewitt
8 Daniel Browne

 

Replacements

16 Dylan Hartley
17 Simon Emms
18 DAVID GERARD
19 SAM HARDING
20 Darren Fox
21 Johnny Howard
22 JAMES PRITCHARD

 

So not that many first choice names out on international duty, or indeed injury, then. Indeed, the only switch forced upon Budge’n’Grase is Bruce Reihana’s move to the wing, freeing up space for utility back Robbie Kydd to play in his second position in as many starts.

 

The luxury afforded to the Northampton coaches is not replicated with Ian McGeechan and Shaun Edwards, who have half a side wearing colours of country rather than club. Here’s their Sunday selection:

 

15 Mark Van Gisbergen
14 Paul Sackey
13 Rob Hoadley
12 Stuart Abbott
11 Ayoola Erinle
10 Alex King (c)
9 James Honeyben
1 Tim Payne
2 Jonny Barrett
3 Peter Bracken
4 George Skivington
5 Richard Birkett
6 Tom Rees
7 Garth Chamberlain
8 Mark Lock

 

Replacements

16 Ben Gotting
17 Justin Va'a
18 Daniel Leo
19 James Haskell
20 Warren Fury
21 Jeremy Staunton
22 Rob Laird

 

Who should we look out for? Well, despite the losses of key personnel the backline is still useful, and should the ball get out to Erinle on the left wing his confrontation with Rudd will be interesting, to say the least. Also look out for the match-up between Ben Lewitt and the highly rated Tom Rees, especially as both could be seen spearheading the next generation of England opensides.

 

Wasps shouldn’t be taken lightly, far from it.

 

They have only suffered three defeats since the beginning of December, all away, and one of them to our ‘other’ team (aside from Mark H and LOM of course) in the south of France. This is a proud record that this 22-man squad, shorn of its household names or not, will hate to lose. Shaun Edwards is one of the best motivators in the business, especially when his charges have their backs against the wall. Dewi Morris has tipped us to win – never a good omen – and, if Premiership football is anything to go by, previous coaches of the month never win in their next game.

 

Still, we’ve overcome one Premiership hoo-doo this year. There’s no reason at all to say that we can’t do a second.