- Wasps to win (5/2, Betway)
- Over 52.5 points in the match (10/11, Paddy Power)
Lee Blackett said earlier in the week that the 49-17 defeat at home to Harlequins at the end of January ranked with the away loss to Leicester as Wasps’ worst performance of the year.
In what was Billy Millard’s first match in charge of Quins post-Paul Gustard, Marcus Smith turned in a man-of-the-match display as the west Londoners ran riot in Coventry.
In the three months since then, Quins have kicked on from that result to become serious title contenders, whilst Wasps have gone from last season’s finalists to fall-guys, epitomised by the blip in form suffered by their own young fly-half Jacob Umaga.
But both Umaga and Wasps are back and buzzing again. A heart-breaking narrow defeat to Clermont in the Champions Cup, when they were the better side for much of the contest, followed by an impressive win against Bath a fortnight ago, in which Umaga set up three of their tries, has restored confidence ahead of what should be a game full of attacking intent.
Yes, Quins are undeniably favourites but with Northampton slipping up at home to Gloucester yesterday, the need for points to secure their play-off berth isn’t quite as intense.
Wasps, meanwhile, still have a very good chance of finishing in the top eight to guarantee themselves another crack at top-tier European rugby next season, and Blackett says the squad are desperate to end the season on a high.
It has been a rollercoaster ride under Blackett in the last 12 months but they’re on their way back up again, and what better way to underline that than by winning at Quins?
Quins: Mike Brown, 14. Tyrone Green, 13. Joe Marchant, 12. Luke Northmore, 11. Cadan Murley, 10. Marcus Smith, 9. Danny Care, 1. Joe Marler, 2. Scott Baldwin, 3. Wilco Louw, 4. Matt Symons, 5. Stephan Lewies (c), 6. Tom Lawday, 7. Jack Kenningham, 8. Alex Dombrandt.
Replacements: 16. Joe Gray, 17. Santiago Garcia Botta, 18. Will Collier, 19. Dino Lamb, 20. Archie White, 21. Martin Landajo, 22. James Lang, 23. Paul Lasike.
Wasps: Rob Miller, 14. Zach Kibirige, 13. Paolo Odogwu, 12. Malakai Fekitoa, 11. Josh Bassett, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9. Dan Robson, 1. Tom West, 2. Tommy Taylor, 3. Kieran Brookes, 4. Will Rowlands, 5. James Gaskell (c), 6. Brad Shields, 7. Thomas Young, 8. Tom Willis.
Replacements: 16. Gabriel Oghre, 17. Simon McIntyre, 18. Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 19. Tim Cardall, 20. Ben Morris, 21. Will Porter, 22. Charlie Atkinson, 23. Michael Le Bourgeois.
