EDINBURGH NO LAUGHING MATTER FOR WASPS, SAYS BIRKETT
Richard Birkett and his London Wasps team-mates welcomed back their nine internationals on Sunday with a trip to a comedy club in Battersea. But, ahead of Friday's crucial Heineken Cup third round game in Edinburgh, they know their current situation is no laughing matter.
The lock, who made his Wasps debut nine years ago and has played over 200 times for the club, admits that Wasps need to pull out all the stops immediately if they are to salvage anything from their season.
Last Friday the reigning Guinness Premiership champions narrowly defeated Newcastle Falcons 23-17 to record only their second win of the campaign after eight rounds – they are now ninth in the table.
Similarly in the Heineken Cup, a trophy they won in 2007, things have not started well – which places extra importance on the game at Murrayfield. In October a 25-11 home win over French club Castres was followed by a 41-11 drubbing away to Leinster, leaving Wasps six points off the Irish side in Pool 2 and equal on four points with Edinburgh. Birkett knows that Wasps stand a mathematical chance of advancing to the latter stages, but his team must record bonus-point victories.
“It has got to the point now where every single game is a must-win, if we want to do anything at all this year,” says 29-year-old Birkett, who represented England Under-18s while a Millfield schoolboy. “These are desperate times and it was good to win against Newcastle Falcons last week. We needed to get a win at all costs – it was not pretty but it didn’t matter.
“We should have scored a lot more points but we are still making plenty of little errors which are costing us. That is because our confidence is low. We know we can perform, as we are doing it on the training pitch, but we can’t do it on the pitch because we have not been winning games and closing them out. It has caused people to play a bit nervously.
“Winning will bring that confidence back – we know that when we are at the top of our game we can beat anyone, and that is what we need to get back to.”
Birkett was part of the Wasps pack who last played against Edinburgh at Murrayfield in a competitive fixture, three years ago, and recalls the disappointment of Scottish back, Simon Webster’s injury-time score which handed Edinburgh a 32-31 in the opening round of that Heineken Cup competition.
“I remember it was incredibly wet and horrible,” grimaces Birkett. “It was one of those days when nothing went for us at all – they definitely had the bounce of the ball. And it was gutting to see Webster cross for the late try.
“We went up there in pre-season in August and lost again [22-15]. It was a disappointing loss but not crucial. It’s more important now – there is much more at stake. We know they are a strong, physical side and they will defend well.
“We are under no illusions as to how hard a task it will be, as Edinburgh are playing very well this year. It is a tough ask and a big, big game for us. We get them back at ours a week on Sunday, so it will be fun –we should know them pretty well by then.
“It is a question of us being accurate and clinical. If we play the game we know, the win should not be an issue. It is just the accuracy that we have been lacking.”
Birkett admits it is a major boost to have his second-row partner Simon Shaw and Wasps’ other internationals back at the Twyford training ground, adding: “It’s good to have the internationals back – now we have more strength and depth and we get to use absolutely everybody. We had a bit of a team outing on Sunday night so the squad could get back together. We had a beer, chilled out and watched some comedy at a club in Battersea, which was great considering we had not seen them for about a month.
“We are targeting five-point wins in the Heineken Cup from now on. However we do it, it has to happen. It is absolute desperation. Hopefully we can pull it out of the bag. There have been times when we have really needed the win and got it. We need that kind of mentality now.”
Richard Birkett and his London Wasps team-mates welcomed back their nine internationals on Sunday with a trip to a comedy club in Battersea. But, ahead of Friday's crucial Heineken Cup third round game in Edinburgh, they know their current situation is no laughing matter.
The lock, who made his Wasps debut nine years ago and has played over 200 times for the club, admits that Wasps need to pull out all the stops immediately if they are to salvage anything from their season.
Last Friday the reigning Guinness Premiership champions narrowly defeated Newcastle Falcons 23-17 to record only their second win of the campaign after eight rounds – they are now ninth in the table.
Similarly in the Heineken Cup, a trophy they won in 2007, things have not started well – which places extra importance on the game at Murrayfield. In October a 25-11 home win over French club Castres was followed by a 41-11 drubbing away to Leinster, leaving Wasps six points off the Irish side in Pool 2 and equal on four points with Edinburgh. Birkett knows that Wasps stand a mathematical chance of advancing to the latter stages, but his team must record bonus-point victories.
“It has got to the point now where every single game is a must-win, if we want to do anything at all this year,” says 29-year-old Birkett, who represented England Under-18s while a Millfield schoolboy. “These are desperate times and it was good to win against Newcastle Falcons last week. We needed to get a win at all costs – it was not pretty but it didn’t matter.
“We should have scored a lot more points but we are still making plenty of little errors which are costing us. That is because our confidence is low. We know we can perform, as we are doing it on the training pitch, but we can’t do it on the pitch because we have not been winning games and closing them out. It has caused people to play a bit nervously.
“Winning will bring that confidence back – we know that when we are at the top of our game we can beat anyone, and that is what we need to get back to.”
Birkett was part of the Wasps pack who last played against Edinburgh at Murrayfield in a competitive fixture, three years ago, and recalls the disappointment of Scottish back, Simon Webster’s injury-time score which handed Edinburgh a 32-31 in the opening round of that Heineken Cup competition.
“I remember it was incredibly wet and horrible,” grimaces Birkett. “It was one of those days when nothing went for us at all – they definitely had the bounce of the ball. And it was gutting to see Webster cross for the late try.
“We went up there in pre-season in August and lost again [22-15]. It was a disappointing loss but not crucial. It’s more important now – there is much more at stake. We know they are a strong, physical side and they will defend well.
“We are under no illusions as to how hard a task it will be, as Edinburgh are playing very well this year. It is a tough ask and a big, big game for us. We get them back at ours a week on Sunday, so it will be fun –we should know them pretty well by then.
“It is a question of us being accurate and clinical. If we play the game we know, the win should not be an issue. It is just the accuracy that we have been lacking.”
Birkett admits it is a major boost to have his second-row partner Simon Shaw and Wasps’ other internationals back at the Twyford training ground, adding: “It’s good to have the internationals back – now we have more strength and depth and we get to use absolutely everybody. We had a bit of a team outing on Sunday night so the squad could get back together. We had a beer, chilled out and watched some comedy at a club in Battersea, which was great considering we had not seen them for about a month.
“We are targeting five-point wins in the Heineken Cup from now on. However we do it, it has to happen. It is absolute desperation. Hopefully we can pull it out of the bag. There have been times when we have really needed the win and got it. We need that kind of mentality now.”
Labels: Edinburgh, Heineken Cup, London Wasps, Richard Birkett
