Gallagher Premiership 2019-20 season review: Wasps

From an on-field mess to Gallagher Premiership finalists, Wasps completely flipped their season on its head, writes Ben Coles.

More reviews

• Bath

• Gloucester

• Harlequins

• Leicester Tigers

• London Irish

• ​Northampton Saints

• Sale Sharks

• Saracens

Highs

A complete 180-degree turn from Christmas, Wasps went on a blazing run of form in the Premiership, winning 11 out of 12 matches in the league from Lee Blackett’s first home game against Saracens onwards. Not to gloss over that fixture - Wasps out of nowhere decimated Saracens 60-10 and the tone was set in some ways for what was to come.

Here was a side who thrived off fast ball, which allowed quick-thinking half-backs Dan Robson and Jacob Umaga to thrive, while pestering opponents at the lineout and possessing an upgrade on most teams at the breakdown in the form of their human JCB, Jack Willis. And they had plenty of guts, too. Losing both hookers to injury against a post-lockdown undefeated Bath, when prop Tom West ended up shifting to the middle of the scrum, and still getting a win was hugely impressive.

As a result, a team that looked completely adrift around the turn of the year blazed their way to the Premiership final. And came mighty close to winning the whole thing too in Saturday’s game against Exeter, with a five-metre lineout from Exeter’s line which might have led to a winning score. Still, there is enough to be excited about - Umaga’s emergence, the form of Willis, Malakai Fekitoa looking like an All Black again and the leaps made by Zach Kibirige, Biyi Alo and Will Rowlands to name a few - for Wasps supporters to head into next season feeling optimistic.

Lows

Two results around Christmas summed up the mess that Wasps were in - losing 0-38 at home to Bordeaux-Begles in the Challenge Cup, when they named a strong side, and then watching a 17-0 lead at home against Harlequins evaporate, leading to a 28-22 loss. Despite away wins over Bristol (still hard to believe, given it came a few days after that calamity at home to Harlequins) and at Worcester, Dai Young departed and you sensed that for all parties, this was a genuinely sad move to make.

Young poured his heart and soul into the club - it was easy to read on his face how he felt post-victory or post-defeat. But a change had to come - Wasps lost four of their first five league games - and as it turns out was for the best, given Wasps before and after Young’s departure were night and day.

Best player

Very tough. Love the way Fekitoa has developed into one of the best defenders in the Premiership. Seeing Robson recover the way he has from a testing time out of the game last year, recapturing his form and even improving it, is heartening. And then look at Jacob Umaga, a favourite (currently) of Eddie Jones who could make his Test debut this weekend against Italy, sharp in attack and tackling way above his weight.

But it has to be Jack Willis, after cleaning up at the end-of-season awards following his 45 turnovers won at the breakdown in Premiership, a season record, with Willis miles ahead of the rest. Don’t focus too much on those ruck steals though - Willis can hit in defence and is a brutish ball carrier, which is why he seems ready-made for Test rugby and should feature over the coming weeks with England.

Best signing

Wasps’ recruitment was actually excellent - although perhaps the reason for their slow start to the season was waiting for everybody to bed in. Fekitoa arrived from Toulon and is now flying after an underwhelming first few months, Alo was a fine pick-up from Coventry, and Matteo Minozzi (who I had high hopes for) has excelled too since pitching up from Zebre and continuing the Italian full-back legacy at Wasps after Andrea Masi. Ben Vellacott and Jack Owlett will prove incredibly valuable additions down the road as well.

This award though goes to Kibirige, with 10 tries in his debut season at Wasps after switching from Newcastle Falcons. Razor sharp, he came up with a superb chip-and-chase try away to Sale Sharks back towards the start of the season. Kibirige has been around the top flight for an age but is still just 25, and another season like this one for Wasps at the top end might lead to international honours.

Next season’s prospects

Given the way they have played since January, anything less than top four again next season for Wasps would be a disappointment. The young core - Umaga, the Willis brothers, Alfie Barbeary - will only improve and Ryan Mills, injured towards the end of the season, should be an effective signing from Worcester Warriors.

Given the way Wasps play at such a high tempo, teams in both the Premiership and Champions Cup will fear taking them on. It’s hard to imagine another poor start as bad as the 2019-20 season, but getting over the emotional baggage of losing the Premiership final to Exeter has to happen quickly, because there is real potential here for something special.