11:10am Friday 11th February 2011
By Alan Feldberg
WASPS versus Gloucester on Sunday is a match Wasps can’t afford to lose.
They are currently fifth in the Aviva Premiership, but if Gloucester and Bath win their games in hand they will both leap-frog Wasps and, from seventh, the top four would take some doing.
Director of rugby Tony Hanks said: “It’s all about the Premiership for us now and the next month is really important.
“We’ve got three homes games in the next four and we’ve got to perform.
“If you start playing to the league table you’re in trouble, but we all know how important it is. It’s so tight that within a couple of weeks you can go from third to ninth.”
Gloucester’s play-offs challenge is based on their home form, but Hanks warns against treating them as a soft touch on the road.
He said: “Teams get on a roll in the Premiership and Gloucester are playing with some confidence now.
“They’ve been scoring a lot of points and their backs are looking very dangerous.”
And even more so now that prolific winger James Simpson-Daniel has been released by England.
Hanks said: “We’ve got to look after those threats, but we also want to impose our own game.
“They beat us with two penalties from their own half last time, so we have to make sure our discipline is good and we put them under pressure.”
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