Dai Young, the Wasps director of rugby, has urged his side to take their unexpected opportunity to qualify for next season's inaugural European Rugby Champions Cup. The London club have a two-legged fixture against French side Stade Français as they strive to earn a place in the tournament that marks a new era of continental competition following the controversial two-year saga over its formation.
Wasps face a significant challenge against Stade, with the sides meeting at Adams Park on Sunday before a return game in Paris next weekend. Whoever accrues the most points over the two legs will become the 20th team in next year's Champions Cup.
It represents a surprise chance for Wasps to qualify for the top tier of European rugby, despite finishing seventh in the Premiership, while Stade recently finished seventh in the Top 14. Six teams in England and France previously qualified for the Heineken Cup, with Wasps winning that tournament in 2004 and 2007.
Young, whose side shipped 74 points against Northampton at Franklin's Gardens last weekend, played up the importance of qualification and has admitted his side will need to be stronger defensively than in recent weeks.
"These two play-off games are huge for the club, the players and our supporters," Young said on Wasps' official website. "We would be absolutely thrilled if we were to reach the Champions Cup. It would be a year ahead of where we were expecting to be in the building process, but we are so close now and we will give everything in our power to get there. We all want to grab this opportunity with both hands.
"No matter who was playing last week, we are all in this together. We win together, we lose together. There has been a lot of hurt around the camp, so it may be the ideal time to go into this game. We've all looked at where we need to improve and I've been very pleased with the response players have shown in training.
"The next fortnight is incredibly important for both clubs, who will be equally as determined to finish on a high, with a place at Europe's top table for next season on offer."
Stade were beaten by Harlequins in the quarter-finals of this season's Amlin Challenge Cup, the second-tier competition that in the future will be called the European Rugby Challenge Cup. A new third-tier cup called the Qualifying Competition will also be introduced.
Young admits that Wasps' mentality will have to improve against Stade, whose international names including Sergio Parisse and Digby Ioane could provide a major threat to a defence that has appeared vulnerable in recent games.
"Defence normally gives an indication of the mindset of a team and that mindset wasn't right the last couple of games given the way we leaked tries. Stade Français are a quality side. They are big and powerful right across the board, full of international stars and world renowned names. We've planned for every eventuality, but whatever team they put out, it will be quality from 1-23.
"We will give Stade Français the respect they deserve and try to work our way through their strengths and weaknesses, but as normal, it will be up to us to impose our own game and play the game we want to play with ball in hand. We need to get our set-piece right and obviously our defence has to step up. It's been a strong part of our game all season, so I don't expect it to be any different in these two games. We just need to make sure the bite and attitude is spot on."
