London Wasps
Encyclopedia
London Wasps is an English professional rugby union
team. The men's first team, which forms London Wasps, was derived from Wasps Football Club
who were formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London, at the turn of professionalism in 1999. London Wasps play at Adams Park
, which is located in High Wycombe
, Buckinghamshire
.
London Wasps have won at least one of each of the major European competitions or knock-out tournaments in the past decade. The team compete in the English club competition, the Aviva Premiership, the Anglo-Welsh competition the LV= Cup and the European knock-out competition, the Amlin Challenge Cup
.
They won the Heineken Cup
in 2003–04
and 2006–07
, the Anglo-Welsh Cup
in 2006 and the Aviva Premiership in 1990, 1997, 2003–2005 and 2008.
and Wasps. Wasps Football Club was itself formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London; names of insects, birds and animals were considered fashionable in the Victorian period. In December 1870, Edwin Ash, Secretary of Richmond Football Club published a letter in the papers which said, "Those who play the rugby-type game should meet to form a code of practice as various clubs play to rules which differ from others, which makes the game difficult to play."
As a reasonably well-established club, the Wasps were eligible to be founder members of the Rugby Football Union
(RFU). On 26 January 1871 the meeting was scheduled to take place. However a mix-up led to them sending their representative to the wrong venue at the wrong time on the wrong day. Another version of the story was that he went to a pub of the same name and after consuming a number of drinks was too drunk to make it to the correct address after he realized his mistake. Wasps were, therefore, not present at the inauguration ceremony and forfeited their right to be called foundation members.
Wasps' first home was in Finchley Road
, North London. Later, grounds were rented in various parts of London until in 1923 the Wasps found a permanent home at Sudbury
, Middlesex
, eventually buying the ground outright. The side had somewhat of a renaissance during the 1930s; in the earlier part of the decade they were seen as one of the better English clubs, going unbeaten in the 1930/31 English season. The 1930s also saw the emergence of Neville Compton, who captained the side between 1939 and 1947 and went on to become fixture secretary in 1959 and eventually became the club president in the early 1970s before retiring in 1988.
Wasps went on to host Welsh internationals Vivian Jenkins and Harry Bowcott
, in addition to this national representation, numerous Wasps came to play for the England national side
, such as Ted Woodward, Bob Stirling, Richard Sharp
and Don Rutherford. In 1967, the Wasps club celebrated their centenary. Celebrations took the form of two matches that were held at the Rugby school
grounds, where William Webb Ellis
is thought to have originated the rugby union game. One match was played against the Barbarian F.C.
, the other, against another London rugby union club, the Harlequins.
. In 1986, Wasps Football Club made their first appearance at the final of the John Player Cup
knock-out competition, which originated in 1972. Wasps were defeated by Bath
in a close game, where Bath emerged as winners, 25 points to 17. The following year Wasps continued their success in the knock-out competition and they again met Bath in the final. They were however again defeated by Bath in a close game, Bath winning 19 points to 12. Wasp Rob Andrew
captained England against Romania
in 1989. In 1990, Andrew captained Wasps to their first Courage League title, as they narrowly pipped Orrell to be English champions.
In 1995 Wasps lost 16–36 to Bath
in the final of the Pilkington Cup. It was their first appearance in the final since 1987 and 1986, when their opponents — and the eventual winners — on both occasions were also Bath.
After winning the title, Wasps regularly finished in the top three of the Courage league title, although they were never quite good enough to overcome Bath, the pre-eminent club of the time. Then in 1995/96, with many pundits predicting Wasps could make a run for the title, Rob Andrew took up a lucrative deal to become Player Manager of Newcastle Falcons. He recruited several other leading Wasps, including, most notably, Club Captain Dean Ryan. For a few weeks Wasps looked like becoming the first casualty of the professional era as the backbone of their team had left. But under newly appointed Captain Lawrence Dallaglio, the club steadied the ship, and managed to finish fourth, and secure a place in the following season's Heineken Cup, which English teams were entering for the first time.
The following season, 1996/97, Wasps won their second league championship, and became the first English Champions of the professional era. It was an equally momentous season off the field. The club split into two parts, with the professional side becoming part of Loftus Road Holdings PLC, who also owned Queens Park Rangers F.C.
. One element of the deal saw Wasps move from their traditional Sudbury home to share QPR's Loftus Road
stadium.
In 1998, the now-professional Wasps again reached the final of what was now the Tetley's Bitter Cup, but lost 18–48 to a star-studded Saracens
side. The following year, Wasps again reached the final, in which they defeated Newcastle Falcons
29–19, to claim their first title in the competition. In 2000, Wasps reached the final for the third consecutive year, successfully defending their title in a 31–23 victory over Northampton Saints
.
In the summer of 1999, the professional team — which had been operating as Wasps RFC (professional) since the 1996/97 season — was renamed as London Wasps, to differentiate it from Wasps FC
, the amateur side of the club. At the same they adopted a new logo, which was selected as being in keeping with the club's history.
In 2001 ex-Wigan rugby league star Shaun Edwards
joined as a coach. He has largely been credited with creating Wasps' famous Blitz Defence
that stops teams and is the basis for Wasps' own scoring chances. London Wasps agreed to move out of Queens Park Rangers' Loftus Road
stadium
to allow Fulham F.C. to rent for 2 seasons between 2002 and 2004, while their ground, Craven Cottage, was redeveloped. They became tenants to Wycombe Wanderers at Adams Park
at the end of the 2001/02 season. The success of Wasps at their new ground meant they did not return to Loftus Road after Fulham left.
In the 2002/03 European Challenge Cup, Wasps made their way to the final, where they met Bath. Though Bath beat them in numerous finals in the 1990s, the Wasps emerged as champions, beating Bath 48 to 30 at Madejski Stadium
. Wasps end of season run to glory also included timely wins that saw them defeat the Northampton Saints, in the Premiership semi final, after finishing 2nd in the league table. This saw them face Gloucester in the final at Twickenham. Wasps superior fitness saw them waltz past the cherry and whites and win their first English title since 1997, by 39 points to 3.
Wasps finished top of their pool in the 2003-04 Heineken Cup
, where they went on to defeat Gloucester
at the quarter-finals and won a final berth after beating Munster
37 points to 32 in the semi-finals. The semi-final, held at Lansdowne Road
, has gone down as one of the all-time classic matches, for its incredible intensity, beating that of most international games. They met Toulouse
in the final at Twickenham
, where they became champions, defeating the French side, 27 points to 20 winning their first Heineken Cup
. Wasps followed up the win the following week, again at Twickenham, by beating Bath to retain the title of England's champion side, and complete a double.
In December 2004 the RFU revealed that the team was to be disqualified from the Powergen Cup
for fielding an ineligible player, hooker Jonny Barrett, in a sixth-round game versus Bristol
. Wasps went through the season well, after the cup glitch, and retained the English title for a second time, by beating Leicester Tigers
in the final at Twickenham. Edwards, however, was not a totally happy man as Wasps conceded their first try of the three Premiership finals in the dying minutes. Warren Gatland
signed off at Wasps with a rare smile to continue his coaching with Waikato
in New Zealand
.
Ian McGeechan
became the new Director of Rugby at Wasps from the 2005/06 season, taking over from Gatland. Wasps won the Powergen Anglo-Welsh Cup
in the 2005/06 season, beating Llanelli Scarlets
in the final at Twickenham. Before the 2006/07 season began, Wasps won the Middlesex 7's in Twickenham, beating Leicester Tigers
in the final. Josh Lewsey
scored 11 tries in the process.
In the 2007
Six Nations Championship
, England vs. Wales game at the Millennium Stadium
in Cardiff
, Wasps supplied the back row of the scrum, James Haskell
, Joe Worsley
and Tom Rees
all made an appearance. This was the first time that any club supplied the entire back row. Unfortunately for England, Wales won the encounter 27 to 18.
In the Heineken Cup of 2007, Wasps qualified by topping their group for a home quarter final. They were drawn against Leinster
on 31 March. There was a full house at Adams Park
, and three players in total were sent to the Sin Bin, Lawrence Dallaglio
in the last moments of the first half, Dominic Waldouck
of London Wasps and Malcolm O'Kelly
of Leinster
later spent time there as well. The final score was 35–13 to wasps. In the Semi Final on Sunday April 22 at Coventry Citys Ricoh Arena
, Wasps beat Northampton
30–13 and in doing so, gained a place in the Heineken Cup Final against Leicester Tigers at Twickenham.
Leicester Tigers were the favourites, as they had already won the Anglo-Welsh cup and the Guinness Premiership, the latter just the week before.
Wasps went ahead early, and while Leicester kept in the match, Wasps defence was on top form and Leicester did not even score a penalty in the second half. Wasps won 25–9, thanks to penalties by Alex King
and tries by Raphael Ibanez
and Eoin Reddan
to become 2007 champions.
During the 2007/08 season, Wasps went from 10th in the league during October, to beat Leicester Tigers in the Guinness Premiership Final. This sealed a dream send-off for the retiring Lawrence Dallaglio at Twickenham. Wasps won 26–16 thanks to penalties by Mark van Gisbergen
and tries by Josh Lewsey and Tom Rees to become the English 2008 champions. Wasps have now won six league titles in all, equal with Bath and just one behind Leicester.
The 2008/9 season was to see Wasps come unstuck. With their captain having retired, many of the players failed to play to their full potential. Wasps would eventually finish in seventh place, having also failed to reach the knock-out stages of the Heineken Cup and EDF Anglo Welsh Cup. On 12 May 2009 it was announced in the evening standard that Ian McGeechan had been forced to step down and will now take a consultancy role both at London Wasps and London Scottish. This was confirmed by the BBC on 14 May. Tony Hanks, a former coach at the club, was announced as the new Director of Rugby soon after. He had more recently been coaching at Waikato
and also been a stand in for McGeechan for the latter part of the 2008/09 season, whilst he was primarily committed to British and Irish Lions
duty. McGeechan had technically been a Lions employee for the whole season and through agreement with Wasps was loaned back to the club.
The 2009/2010 season started off with an exodus of key players including James Haskell
and Tom Palmer who moved to Stade Français, Riki Flutey
who also crossed the channel to join Brive and Eoin Reddan
who left to join Leinster in Ireland.
In late February it was announced that Danny Cipriani
would be leaving for the Melbourne Rebels
in Australia and he was determined to leave on a high.
After beating Gloucester 42–26 in the Quarter final of the Amlin cup
scoring 5 tries including a hat-trick from winger Tom Varndell
, Wasps lost 15–18 at home to Cardiff Blues
in the Semi final with Dave Walder
kicking all of Wasps points with 5 penalties. Cardiff subsequently beat French Top 14 side Toulon
in the final of the competition at the Stade Vélodrome
in Marseille
.
Shaun Edwards left the club in November 2011.
Wasp's first home was in Finchley Road
, North London although subsequent years saw grounds being rented in various parts of London. In 1923 Wasps moved to a permanent home at Sudbury
, Middlesex
, eventually buying the ground outright. Although the team currently play home matches at Adams Park
, High Wycombe
in Buckinghamshire
, and the ground at Sudbury has been developed for housing, the club house still stands (currently being used as a Hindu Community Centre) and is still considered by many as the club's spiritual home.
Wasps previously played their home games at Loftus Road
in West London. They however made the move to High Wycombe in 2002. The crowds figure went up by 31.8% the next season. In recent years, Wasps have played their season opener in the London Double Header
at Twickenham
, in 2006 this drew a crowd of 51,950, breaking the record set in 2004. From the start of the 2003/4 season to the end of the 2005/6 season the stadium was sponsored by Causeway Technologies and known as the Causeway Stadium.
For the 2007/08 season it was announced that Wasps would begin their defence of the Heineken Cup in Coventry
, playing their "home" tie against Munster at 's Ricoh Arena
. While commercially the move was seen as a success with Wasps winning the game 24–23 in front of a crowd of 21,506, the move attracted criticism from some of the club's supporters. It could be argued they had little choice in moving the match away from Adams Park, with Wycombe Wanderers playing an FA Cup
tie the same day.
It was announced in 2007 that a joint venture between Wasps, Wycombe Wanderers and Wycombe District Council would fund a new stadium in the High Wycombe area. The favoured site for the new stadium now appears to be Wycombe Air Park, a 208 acre (0.84174688 km²) site owned by Wycombe District Council and close to the M40 motorway. The site is currently leased as an airfield but the lease expires in 2014 and potentially could be taken back earlier. The loose plans are that it would be 16–17,000 capacity, with a terraced section (it would be the first new football ground in England with terraced section since the Taylor Report
). The development would also included retail, hotel, conference and other facilities. Wasps and Wanderers funding would primarily be from Steve Hayes
, who had become a 25% share holder through a £250,000 investment in Wycombe Wanderers in June 2004, when the football club became a plc
company; and later became managing director. Hayes bought an 11.6% stake in London Wasps Holdings Ltd in August 2007, and became chairman of Lawrence Dallaglio
's benefit committee. In December 2008, Hayes bought Wright's controlling interest and John O'Connell's share holding in Wasps to take complete control.
Joe Worsley
Ross Filipo
Sakaria Taulafo
Hugo Southwell
Marco Wentzel
Ben Broster
Nicky Robinson
(from
Córdoba
, trial) Guillermo Roan (from La Plata
) Chris Bell (from
Sale Sharks
) Alex Cheesman (from Oxford University
) Ryan Davis (from Exeter Chiefs
) Matt Everard (from Leicester Tigers
) Chris Mayor
(from
Gran Parma) Simon McIntyre (from Sale Sharks
) Steve Thompson (from Leeds Carnegie) Jérémy Castex (from 
Narbonne
) Charlie Ingall (from Tynedale
) Ross Filipo
(from Bayonne
) Jonathan Poff
(from
Tasman
) Hugo Southwell
(from Stade Français) Marco Wentzel
(from Leeds Carnegie) James Harris
(from Blackheath
) Nicky Robinson (from Gloucester)
(to
Kyuden Voltex
) Steve Kefu (to Bay of Plenty
) Charlie Beech
(to Bath
) Tom French (to Barking) Seb Jewell
(to London Welsh) Josh Lewsey
- Retiring Will Matthews Simon Shaw
(to Toulon
) Mark van Gisbergen
(to Lyon
) Dave Walder
(to Mitsubishi Dynaboars) Joe Ward (to Sale Sharks
) Dan Ward-Smith
- Retiring Serge Betsen
Michael Mayhew
(to North Harbour
) Marty Veale
(to Northland
) David Lemi
(to
Glasgow Warriors
) Shaun Ruwers
(to Waterloo
) Andy Powell
(to Sale Sharks
)
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
team. The men's first team, which forms London Wasps, was derived from Wasps Football Club
Wasps FC
Wasps FC is the amateur side of the Wasps rugby union club formed in 1867. The men's first team was split from Wasps FC at the turn of professionalism, for the 1996-97 season, to become Wasps RFC, owned by Chris Wright, and later became London Wasps in the summer of 1999...
who were formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London, at the turn of professionalism in 1999. London Wasps play at Adams Park
Adams Park
Adams Park is a football stadium in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. It is the home ground of Wycombe Wanderers F.C. and the Aviva Premiership Rugby Union club London Wasps...
, which is located in High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
.
London Wasps have won at least one of each of the major European competitions or knock-out tournaments in the past decade. The team compete in the English club competition, the Aviva Premiership, the Anglo-Welsh competition the LV= Cup and the European knock-out competition, the Amlin Challenge Cup
European Challenge Cup
The European Challenge Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Amlin Challenge Cup, is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup. The cup was known as the Parker Pen Shield from 2001 to 2003 and Parker Pen Challenge Cup from 2003 to 2005. The European...
.
They won the Heineken Cup
Heineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
in 2003–04
2003-04 Heineken Cup
The 2003-4 Heineken Cup was the ninth season for which European teams competed for the Heineken Cup. Competing teams, from England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales, were divided into six pools of four, in which teams played home and away matches against each other...
and 2006–07
2006-07 Heineken Cup
The 2006–07 Heineken Cup was the 12th edition of the European Heineken Cup rugby union club tournament. The pool draw took place on 21 June at Twickenham. The pool stages started on 20 October and concluded in January, going for six rounds...
, the Anglo-Welsh Cup
EDF Energy Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the LV Cup , is an English and Welsh rugby union knock-out cup competition featuring the twelve Aviva Premiership clubs and four Welsh Regions...
in 2006 and the Aviva Premiership in 1990, 1997, 2003–2005 and 2008.
1866–1967
Hampstead Football Club was founded in 1866. A split in the membership resulted in the formation of two different clubs: Harlequin F.C.Harlequin F.C.
The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop...
and Wasps. Wasps Football Club was itself formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London; names of insects, birds and animals were considered fashionable in the Victorian period. In December 1870, Edwin Ash, Secretary of Richmond Football Club published a letter in the papers which said, "Those who play the rugby-type game should meet to form a code of practice as various clubs play to rules which differ from others, which makes the game difficult to play."
As a reasonably well-established club, the Wasps were eligible to be founder members of the Rugby Football Union
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
(RFU). On 26 January 1871 the meeting was scheduled to take place. However a mix-up led to them sending their representative to the wrong venue at the wrong time on the wrong day. Another version of the story was that he went to a pub of the same name and after consuming a number of drinks was too drunk to make it to the correct address after he realized his mistake. Wasps were, therefore, not present at the inauguration ceremony and forfeited their right to be called foundation members.
Wasps' first home was in Finchley Road
Finchley Road
Finchley Road, an inner city main road which runs for about 7 kilometres/4 miles, is one of the major thoroughfares of north London, England.Originally named Finchley New Road, it was built as a turnpike road in the late 1820s/early 1830s to provide a by-pass to the existing route north from London...
, North London. Later, grounds were rented in various parts of London until in 1923 the Wasps found a permanent home at Sudbury
Sudbury, London
Sudbury is a suburb in the London Boroughs of Brent and Harrow, located in northwest London, UK.Sudbury is an historical area having once extended from the 'South Manor- Sudbury' to the area that is now known as Wembley Central...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, eventually buying the ground outright. The side had somewhat of a renaissance during the 1930s; in the earlier part of the decade they were seen as one of the better English clubs, going unbeaten in the 1930/31 English season. The 1930s also saw the emergence of Neville Compton, who captained the side between 1939 and 1947 and went on to become fixture secretary in 1959 and eventually became the club president in the early 1970s before retiring in 1988.
Wasps went on to host Welsh internationals Vivian Jenkins and Harry Bowcott
Harry Bowcott
Harry Bowcott was a Welsh international rugby union centre who played club rugby for Cardiff and London Welsh and later became president of the Welsh Rugby Union.-Club career:...
, in addition to this national representation, numerous Wasps came to play for the England national side
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
, such as Ted Woodward, Bob Stirling, Richard Sharp
Richard Sharp
Richard Adrian William Sharp from Cornwall, was educated at Blundell's School and at Balliol College, University of Oxford. He was a former Cornish rugby player at Redruth R.F.C., Wasps FC, Bristol FC and England rugby union fly-half and captain. He played for England while at Oxford and led...
and Don Rutherford. In 1967, the Wasps club celebrated their centenary. Celebrations took the form of two matches that were held at the Rugby school
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
grounds, where William Webb Ellis
William Webb Ellis
Rev. William Webb Ellis was an Anglican clergyman who is famous for allegedly being the inventor of Rugby football whilst a pupil at Rugby School....
is thought to have originated the rugby union game. One match was played against the Barbarian F.C.
Barbarian F.C.
The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
, the other, against another London rugby union club, the Harlequins.
1968–1994
The 1980s saw what was, at that point, an all time high representation of Wasps players in the England national sideEngland national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
. In 1986, Wasps Football Club made their first appearance at the final of the John Player Cup
EDF Energy Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the LV Cup , is an English and Welsh rugby union knock-out cup competition featuring the twelve Aviva Premiership clubs and four Welsh Regions...
knock-out competition, which originated in 1972. Wasps were defeated by Bath
Bath Rugby
Bath Rugby is an English professional rugby union club that is based in the city of Bath. They play in the Aviva Premiership league...
in a close game, where Bath emerged as winners, 25 points to 17. The following year Wasps continued their success in the knock-out competition and they again met Bath in the final. They were however again defeated by Bath in a close game, Bath winning 19 points to 12. Wasp Rob Andrew
Rob Andrew
Christopher Robert "Rob" Andrew MBE , nicknamed "Squeaky", is a former English rugby union footballer and currently Director of Operations at the RFU. He was formerly the Director of Rugby of Newcastle Falcons. As a player, Andrew was assured in his kicking and defensive skills off both feet...
captained England against Romania
Romania national rugby union team
The Romania national rugby union team , nicknamed The Oaks , is the representative side of Romania in rugby union. Long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations, they have participated in all six Rugby World Cups, and currently compete in the first division of the...
in 1989. In 1990, Andrew captained Wasps to their first Courage League title, as they narrowly pipped Orrell to be English champions.
1995–1999
Bath Rugby
Bath Rugby is an English professional rugby union club that is based in the city of Bath. They play in the Aviva Premiership league...
in the final of the Pilkington Cup. It was their first appearance in the final since 1987 and 1986, when their opponents — and the eventual winners — on both occasions were also Bath.
After winning the title, Wasps regularly finished in the top three of the Courage league title, although they were never quite good enough to overcome Bath, the pre-eminent club of the time. Then in 1995/96, with many pundits predicting Wasps could make a run for the title, Rob Andrew took up a lucrative deal to become Player Manager of Newcastle Falcons. He recruited several other leading Wasps, including, most notably, Club Captain Dean Ryan. For a few weeks Wasps looked like becoming the first casualty of the professional era as the backbone of their team had left. But under newly appointed Captain Lawrence Dallaglio, the club steadied the ship, and managed to finish fourth, and secure a place in the following season's Heineken Cup, which English teams were entering for the first time.
The following season, 1996/97, Wasps won their second league championship, and became the first English Champions of the professional era. It was an equally momentous season off the field. The club split into two parts, with the professional side becoming part of Loftus Road Holdings PLC, who also owned Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
. One element of the deal saw Wasps move from their traditional Sudbury home to share QPR's Loftus Road
Loftus Road
Loftus Road is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, London. It is home to the English football team Queens Park Rangers of the Premier League and has a capacity of around 18,500. The four stands are called the Loftus Road End , Ellerslie Road Stand, South Africa Road Stand and the School End,...
stadium.
In 1998, the now-professional Wasps again reached the final of what was now the Tetley's Bitter Cup, but lost 18–48 to a star-studded Saracens
Saracens F.C.
Saracens are a professional rugby union team based in St. Albans, England – although they play their home games at Vicarage Road, in Watford. They are currently members of the Aviva Premiership, the top level of domestic rugby union in England...
side. The following year, Wasps again reached the final, in which they defeated Newcastle Falcons
Newcastle Falcons
The Newcastle Falcons is an English rugby union team currently playing in the Aviva Premiership. The club was established in 1877 and played under the name of Gosforth Football Club until 1990. The name was then changed to Newcastle Gosforth and the club began to play at Kingston Park stadium in...
29–19, to claim their first title in the competition. In 2000, Wasps reached the final for the third consecutive year, successfully defending their title in a 31–23 victory over Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints are a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The Northampton Saints were formed in 1880. They play in green, black and gold colours. They play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, which has a capacity of 13,591....
.
In the summer of 1999, the professional team — which had been operating as Wasps RFC (professional) since the 1996/97 season — was renamed as London Wasps, to differentiate it from Wasps FC
Wasps FC
Wasps FC is the amateur side of the Wasps rugby union club formed in 1867. The men's first team was split from Wasps FC at the turn of professionalism, for the 1996-97 season, to become Wasps RFC, owned by Chris Wright, and later became London Wasps in the summer of 1999...
, the amateur side of the club. At the same they adopted a new logo, which was selected as being in keeping with the club's history.
2000–present
Shaun Edwards
Shaun Edwards OBE is an English rugby union coach and former rugby league player. He is defence coach of Wales, a post he has held since 2008. In November 2011 he left London Wasps after 10 years with the club, latterly as head coach....
joined as a coach. He has largely been credited with creating Wasps' famous Blitz Defence
Blitz Defence
The Blitz defence is a defensive technique used in rugby union. It was brought to prominence by Shaun Edwards, the head coach of London Wasps. The Blitz defence relies on the whole defensive line moving forward towards their markedman as one as soon as the ball leaves the base of a ruck or maul...
that stops teams and is the basis for Wasps' own scoring chances. London Wasps agreed to move out of Queens Park Rangers' Loftus Road
Loftus Road
Loftus Road is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, London. It is home to the English football team Queens Park Rangers of the Premier League and has a capacity of around 18,500. The four stands are called the Loftus Road End , Ellerslie Road Stand, South Africa Road Stand and the School End,...
stadium
to allow Fulham F.C. to rent for 2 seasons between 2002 and 2004, while their ground, Craven Cottage, was redeveloped. They became tenants to Wycombe Wanderers at Adams Park
Adams Park
Adams Park is a football stadium in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. It is the home ground of Wycombe Wanderers F.C. and the Aviva Premiership Rugby Union club London Wasps...
at the end of the 2001/02 season. The success of Wasps at their new ground meant they did not return to Loftus Road after Fulham left.
In the 2002/03 European Challenge Cup, Wasps made their way to the final, where they met Bath. Though Bath beat them in numerous finals in the 1990s, the Wasps emerged as champions, beating Bath 48 to 30 at Madejski Stadium
Madejski Stadium
The Madejski Stadium is a stadium in Reading, Berkshire, England. The stadium is the home of Reading Football Club and to the rugby union club London Irish as tenants. It also provides the finish for the Reading Half Marathon...
. Wasps end of season run to glory also included timely wins that saw them defeat the Northampton Saints, in the Premiership semi final, after finishing 2nd in the league table. This saw them face Gloucester in the final at Twickenham. Wasps superior fitness saw them waltz past the cherry and whites and win their first English title since 1997, by 39 points to 3.
Wasps finished top of their pool in the 2003-04 Heineken Cup
2003-04 Heineken Cup
The 2003-4 Heineken Cup was the ninth season for which European teams competed for the Heineken Cup. Competing teams, from England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales, were divided into six pools of four, in which teams played home and away matches against each other...
, where they went on to defeat Gloucester
Gloucester RFC
Gloucester Rugby are a professional English rugby union club situated in the west country city of Gloucester. The club plays in the domestic Aviva Premiership...
at the quarter-finals and won a final berth after beating Munster
Munster Rugby
Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...
37 points to 32 in the semi-finals. The semi-final, held at Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...
, has gone down as one of the all-time classic matches, for its incredible intensity, beating that of most international games. They met Toulouse
Stade Toulousain
Stade Toulousain, also referred to as Toulouse, is a French rugby union club from Toulouse in Midi-Pyrénées. Toulouse is one of the finest rugby clubs in Europe, having won the Heineken Cup four times – in 1996, 2003, 2005 and 2010. They were also runners-up in 2004 and 2008 against London Wasps...
in the final at Twickenham
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
, where they became champions, defeating the French side, 27 points to 20 winning their first Heineken Cup
Heineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
. Wasps followed up the win the following week, again at Twickenham, by beating Bath to retain the title of England's champion side, and complete a double.
In December 2004 the RFU revealed that the team was to be disqualified from the Powergen Cup
EDF Energy Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the LV Cup , is an English and Welsh rugby union knock-out cup competition featuring the twelve Aviva Premiership clubs and four Welsh Regions...
for fielding an ineligible player, hooker Jonny Barrett, in a sixth-round game versus Bristol
Bristol Rugby
Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'...
. Wasps went through the season well, after the cup glitch, and retained the English title for a second time, by beating Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
in the final at Twickenham. Edwards, however, was not a totally happy man as Wasps conceded their first try of the three Premiership finals in the dying minutes. Warren Gatland
Warren Gatland
Warren David Gatland is a former New Zealand rugby footballer and the current head coach of the Wales national team.Gatland was born in Hamilton, New Zealand and educated at Hamilton Boys' High School and Waikato University...
signed off at Wasps with a rare smile to continue his coaching with Waikato
Waikato Rugby Union
The Waikato Rugby Union is the official governing body of rugby union in the Waikato area in the North Island of New Zealand. Its senior representative team competes in the ITM Cup , and won the inaugural Air New Zealand Cup in 2006.Waikato Rugby Union was founded in 1921...
in New Zealand
Air New Zealand Cup
The ITM Cup is New Zealand's annual professional domestic Rugby union competition, taking place from late July through October . It was founded in 2006 with 14 teams, after the National Provincial Championship was split into two separate competitions. The other 12 provincial teams from the NPC...
.
Ian McGeechan
Ian McGeechan
Sir Ian Robert McGeechan OBE is a Scottish former rugby union player and coach. His nickname is "Geech".-Playing career:...
became the new Director of Rugby at Wasps from the 2005/06 season, taking over from Gatland. Wasps won the Powergen Anglo-Welsh Cup
EDF Energy Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the LV Cup , is an English and Welsh rugby union knock-out cup competition featuring the twelve Aviva Premiership clubs and four Welsh Regions...
in the 2005/06 season, beating Llanelli Scarlets
Llanelli Scarlets
The Scarlets are one of the four professional Welsh regional rugby union teams. Based in Llanelli, south-west Wales the team play at the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the RaboDirect Pro12, as well as competing in the LV= Cup and the Heineken Cup...
in the final at Twickenham. Before the 2006/07 season began, Wasps won the Middlesex 7's in Twickenham, beating Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
in the final. Josh Lewsey
Josh Lewsey
Owen Joshua Lewsey MBE is a former English rugby union footballer who played fullback, wing or centre for Wasps.-Career:...
scored 11 tries in the process.
In the 2007
2007 Six Nations Championship
The 2007 RBS 6 Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 113th series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship...
Six Nations Championship
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
, England vs. Wales game at the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wasps supplied the back row of the scrum, James Haskell
James Haskell
James Haskell is an English professional Rugby Union player who currently plays for the Top League team Ricoh Black Rams in Japan and internationally for England.-Career:...
, Joe Worsley
Joe Worsley
Joseph Paul Richard Worsley MBE is a retired English rugby union player who played flanker for Wasps and England.-Biography:...
and Tom Rees
Tom Rees (rugby player)
Thomas Rees is a rugby union footballer who plays flanker for London Wasps and has represented England at senior, Under-21, Under-19, Under-18 and Under-16 levels as well as sevens.-Career:...
all made an appearance. This was the first time that any club supplied the entire back row. Unfortunately for England, Wales won the encounter 27 to 18.
Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
on 31 March. There was a full house at Adams Park
Adams Park
Adams Park is a football stadium in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. It is the home ground of Wycombe Wanderers F.C. and the Aviva Premiership Rugby Union club London Wasps...
, and three players in total were sent to the Sin Bin, Lawrence Dallaglio
Lawrence Dallaglio
Lorenzo Bruno Nero "Lawrence" Dallaglio, OBE is a retired English rugby union player and former captain of the English national team. He played as a flanker or number eight for London Wasps and never played for another club, having arrived at Sudbury as a teenager...
in the last moments of the first half, Dominic Waldouck
Dominic Waldouck
Dominic Waldouck is a rugby union footballer who plays centre for London Wasps. He attended Latymer Upper School in Ladbroke Grove, London and attended Kew College Primary School.-Biography:...
of London Wasps and Malcolm O'Kelly
Malcolm O'Kelly
Malcolm O'Kelly is a retired Irish rugby union player who played as a lock for Ireland and Leinster....
of Leinster
Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
later spent time there as well. The final score was 35–13 to wasps. In the Semi Final on Sunday April 22 at Coventry Citys Ricoh Arena
Ricoh Arena
The Ricoh Arena , home to Coventry City F.C., is a stadium complex situated in the Rowleys Green district of the city of Coventry, England containing a 32,609 seater football stadium, a 6,000 square-metre exhibition hall, a hotel, a leisure club, and a casino...
, Wasps beat Northampton
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints are a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The Northampton Saints were formed in 1880. They play in green, black and gold colours. They play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, which has a capacity of 13,591....
30–13 and in doing so, gained a place in the Heineken Cup Final against Leicester Tigers at Twickenham.
Leicester Tigers were the favourites, as they had already won the Anglo-Welsh cup and the Guinness Premiership, the latter just the week before.
Wasps went ahead early, and while Leicester kept in the match, Wasps defence was on top form and Leicester did not even score a penalty in the second half. Wasps won 25–9, thanks to penalties by Alex King
Alex King
Alexander David King is a rugby union footballer who played at fly-half for ASM Clermont Auvergne and formerly Wasps. King is currently a coach at ASM Clermont Auvergne....
and tries by Raphael Ibanez
Raphaël Ibanez
Raphaël Ibañez is a retired French rugby union footballer. A hooker, he was also a former captain of the France national team.-Club career:...
and Eoin Reddan
Eoin Reddan
Eoin Reddan is an Irish rugby union player who plays at scrum half. He attended school at Crescent College Comprehensive where he captained the school side. On leaving school he studied at the University of Limerick....
to become 2007 champions.
During the 2007/08 season, Wasps went from 10th in the league during October, to beat Leicester Tigers in the Guinness Premiership Final. This sealed a dream send-off for the retiring Lawrence Dallaglio at Twickenham. Wasps won 26–16 thanks to penalties by Mark van Gisbergen
Mark van Gisbergen
Mark van Gisbergen is a rugby union footballer who plays at full back for Lyon and England. He is nicknamed 'Giz' or 'Gizzy'....
and tries by Josh Lewsey and Tom Rees to become the English 2008 champions. Wasps have now won six league titles in all, equal with Bath and just one behind Leicester.
The 2008/9 season was to see Wasps come unstuck. With their captain having retired, many of the players failed to play to their full potential. Wasps would eventually finish in seventh place, having also failed to reach the knock-out stages of the Heineken Cup and EDF Anglo Welsh Cup. On 12 May 2009 it was announced in the evening standard that Ian McGeechan had been forced to step down and will now take a consultancy role both at London Wasps and London Scottish. This was confirmed by the BBC on 14 May. Tony Hanks, a former coach at the club, was announced as the new Director of Rugby soon after. He had more recently been coaching at Waikato
Waikato
The Waikato Region is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato, Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupo District, and parts of Rotorua District...
and also been a stand in for McGeechan for the latter part of the 2008/09 season, whilst he was primarily committed to British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
duty. McGeechan had technically been a Lions employee for the whole season and through agreement with Wasps was loaned back to the club.
The 2009/2010 season started off with an exodus of key players including James Haskell
James Haskell
James Haskell is an English professional Rugby Union player who currently plays for the Top League team Ricoh Black Rams in Japan and internationally for England.-Career:...
and Tom Palmer who moved to Stade Français, Riki Flutey
Riki Flutey
Riki John Flutey is a New Zealand born rugby union footballer who plays at centre or fly-half for London Wasps in the Aviva Premiership....
who also crossed the channel to join Brive and Eoin Reddan
Eoin Reddan
Eoin Reddan is an Irish rugby union player who plays at scrum half. He attended school at Crescent College Comprehensive where he captained the school side. On leaving school he studied at the University of Limerick....
who left to join Leinster in Ireland.
In late February it was announced that Danny Cipriani
Danny Cipriani
Daniel Jerome Cipriani is an English rugby union footballer. He plays fly-half, centre and fullback. He has played for London Wasps and England. He's currently playing his first season of Super Rugby as a member of the inaugural Melbourne Rebels squad.-Biography:Danny Cipriani is mixed-race, his...
would be leaving for the Melbourne Rebels
Melbourne Rebels
The Melbourne Rebels are a professional rugby union team based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. They made their debut in SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. They are the first privately owned professional rugby union team in Australia...
in Australia and he was determined to leave on a high.
After beating Gloucester 42–26 in the Quarter final of the Amlin cup
European Challenge Cup
The European Challenge Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Amlin Challenge Cup, is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup. The cup was known as the Parker Pen Shield from 2001 to 2003 and Parker Pen Challenge Cup from 2003 to 2005. The European...
scoring 5 tries including a hat-trick from winger Tom Varndell
Tom Varndell
Tom Varndell is an English rugby union footballer who plays on the wing for London Wasps, England and England Sevens. He claims to have been clocked at 10.8 seconds for the 100 metres in his socks on grass...
, Wasps lost 15–18 at home to Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues are one of the four professional Welsh regional rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, the team have played at Cardiff City Stadium since the start of the 2009/2010 season and are owned by Cardiff Rugby Football Club....
in the Semi final with Dave Walder
Dave Walder
David John Hume Walder is a rugby union footballer who plays at fly-half for Wasps. He joined London Wasps from Newcastle Falcons in the summer of 2006, and he played a large part in his teams first win, against the Saracens...
kicking all of Wasps points with 5 penalties. Cardiff subsequently beat French Top 14 side Toulon
RC Toulonnais
RC Toulonnais is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
in the final of the competition at the Stade Vélodrome
Stade Vélodrome
The Stade Vélodrome is a football stadium in Marseille, France. It is home to the Olympique de Marseille football club of Ligue 1, and was a venue in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2007 Rugby World Cup. It is the largest club-football ground in France, with a capacity of 60,031 spectators,...
in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
.
Shaun Edwards left the club in November 2011.
Home Ground
Finchley Road
Finchley Road, an inner city main road which runs for about 7 kilometres/4 miles, is one of the major thoroughfares of north London, England.Originally named Finchley New Road, it was built as a turnpike road in the late 1820s/early 1830s to provide a by-pass to the existing route north from London...
, North London although subsequent years saw grounds being rented in various parts of London. In 1923 Wasps moved to a permanent home at Sudbury
Sudbury, London
Sudbury is a suburb in the London Boroughs of Brent and Harrow, located in northwest London, UK.Sudbury is an historical area having once extended from the 'South Manor- Sudbury' to the area that is now known as Wembley Central...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, eventually buying the ground outright. Although the team currently play home matches at Adams Park
Adams Park
Adams Park is a football stadium in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. It is the home ground of Wycombe Wanderers F.C. and the Aviva Premiership Rugby Union club London Wasps...
, High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, and the ground at Sudbury has been developed for housing, the club house still stands (currently being used as a Hindu Community Centre) and is still considered by many as the club's spiritual home.
Wasps previously played their home games at Loftus Road
Loftus Road
Loftus Road is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, London. It is home to the English football team Queens Park Rangers of the Premier League and has a capacity of around 18,500. The four stands are called the Loftus Road End , Ellerslie Road Stand, South Africa Road Stand and the School End,...
in West London. They however made the move to High Wycombe in 2002. The crowds figure went up by 31.8% the next season. In recent years, Wasps have played their season opener in the London Double Header
London Double Header
The London Double Header began in 2004 and opens what was the Zurich Premiership and is now the Aviva Premiership, the top rugby union league in England....
at Twickenham
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
, in 2006 this drew a crowd of 51,950, breaking the record set in 2004. From the start of the 2003/4 season to the end of the 2005/6 season the stadium was sponsored by Causeway Technologies and known as the Causeway Stadium.
For the 2007/08 season it was announced that Wasps would begin their defence of the Heineken Cup in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, playing their "home" tie against Munster at 's Ricoh Arena
Ricoh Arena
The Ricoh Arena , home to Coventry City F.C., is a stadium complex situated in the Rowleys Green district of the city of Coventry, England containing a 32,609 seater football stadium, a 6,000 square-metre exhibition hall, a hotel, a leisure club, and a casino...
. While commercially the move was seen as a success with Wasps winning the game 24–23 in front of a crowd of 21,506, the move attracted criticism from some of the club's supporters. It could be argued they had little choice in moving the match away from Adams Park, with Wycombe Wanderers playing an FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
tie the same day.
It was announced in 2007 that a joint venture between Wasps, Wycombe Wanderers and Wycombe District Council would fund a new stadium in the High Wycombe area. The favoured site for the new stadium now appears to be Wycombe Air Park, a 208 acre (0.84174688 km²) site owned by Wycombe District Council and close to the M40 motorway. The site is currently leased as an airfield but the lease expires in 2014 and potentially could be taken back earlier. The loose plans are that it would be 16–17,000 capacity, with a terraced section (it would be the first new football ground in England with terraced section since the Taylor Report
Taylor Report
The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report, better known as the Taylor Report is a document, whose development was overseen by Lord Taylor of Gosforth, concerning the aftermath and causes of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. An interim report was published in August 1989, and the final...
). The development would also included retail, hotel, conference and other facilities. Wasps and Wanderers funding would primarily be from Steve Hayes
Steve Hayes
Steve Hayes is an English businessman, and the current owner of both League One football club Wycombe Wanderers and Aviva Premiership rugby union side London Wasps....
, who had become a 25% share holder through a £250,000 investment in Wycombe Wanderers in June 2004, when the football club became a plc
Public limited company
A public limited company is a limited liability company that sells shares to the public in United Kingdom company law, in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth jurisdictions....
company; and later became managing director. Hayes bought an 11.6% stake in London Wasps Holdings Ltd in August 2007, and became chairman of Lawrence Dallaglio
Lawrence Dallaglio
Lorenzo Bruno Nero "Lawrence" Dallaglio, OBE is a retired English rugby union player and former captain of the English national team. He played as a flanker or number eight for London Wasps and never played for another club, having arrived at Sudbury as a teenager...
's benefit committee. In December 2008, Hayes bought Wright's controlling interest and John O'Connell's share holding in Wasps to take complete control.
Current squad
For 2011-12 SeasonCurrent England Elite Squad
- Riki FluteyRiki FluteyRiki John Flutey is a New Zealand born rugby union footballer who plays at centre or fly-half for London Wasps in the Aviva Premiership....
- Tim Payne
- Joe SimpsonJoe Simpson (rugby player born 1988)Joe Simpson is a rugby union player who plays scrum half for London Wasps and the England national rugby union team.- Biography :Simpson was born in Australia to a New Zealand mother and English father, both rugby enthusiasts...
- Steve Thompson
- Joe WorsleyJoe WorsleyJoseph Paul Richard Worsley MBE is a retired English rugby union player who played flanker for Wasps and England.-Biography:...
Internationally Capped Players
Guillermo Roan Tim Payne Tom Rees Steve Thompson Tom VarndellTom Varndell
Tom Varndell is an English rugby union footballer who plays on the wing for London Wasps, England and England Sevens. He claims to have been clocked at 10.8 seconds for the 100 metres in his socks on grass...
Joe Worsley
Joe Worsley
Joseph Paul Richard Worsley MBE is a retired English rugby union player who played flanker for Wasps and England.-Biography:...
Ross Filipo
Ross Filipo
Ross Ami Filipo is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who currently plays for London Wasps in the Aviva Premiership.-New Zealand:...
Sakaria Taulafo
Sakaria Taulafo
-Career:Taulafo can play at loosehead or tighthead prop. He currently plays for London Wasps in the English club competition, the Aviva Premiership, and made his debut for Samoa on their 2009 Autumn tour. Prior to coming to Wasps Taulafo played for Tasman and Nelson Bays in the Air New Zealand...
Hugo Southwell
Hugo Southwell
Hugo Finlay Grant Southwell is a Scottish rugby union footballer. He plays as a fullback, centre, wing or scrum half....
Marco Wentzel
Marco Wentzel
Marco Wentzel is a rugby union player, formerly with Leicester Tigers, and also Leeds Carnegie in the Aviva Premiership, and now plying his trade with London Wasps, joining fellow team-mate Steve Thompson at the Wycombe based club. Wentzel plays as a lock or in the back-row.-External links:*...
Ben Broster
Ben Broster
Ben Broster is an English-born Welsh international rugby union footballer. He qualifies to play for Wales through his Welsh mother. He is a tighthead prop and is known for his scrummaging technique and mobility...
Nicky Robinson
Players In
Genaro FessiaGenaro Fessia
Genaro Fessia is an Argentine rugby union footballer. He plays flank. Fessia's debut match for his country was in 2005 when he played against Canada. He was also selected to represent Argentina for the incoming June 2010 tours against France and Scotland. Fessia has played most of his rugby for...
(from
CórdobaCórdoba Athletic Club
Córdoba Athletic Club, or simply Córdoba Athletic, is a multi-sports club from Córdoba, Argentina. Founded in 1882, CAC is the oldest sports club in Córdoba Province...
, trial) Guillermo Roan (from
La PlataLa Plata Rugby Club
La Plata Rugby Club is a rugby union club from the city of La Plata in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.-History:In 1924, members of the rowing section of multi-sports Club Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata decided to try a new sport, so they could stay fit during the winter period...
) Chris Bell (from
Sale SharksSale Sharks
Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...
) Alex Cheesman (from
Oxford UniversityOxford University RFC
The Oxford University Rugby Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham.-History:...
) Ryan Davis (from
Exeter ChiefsExeter Chiefs
Exeter Rugby Club are a rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon.The Exeter club was formed around 1871 and played its first match in 1873. The first team has been rebranded as the Exeter Chiefs and play in a strip of Black , White ....
) Matt Everard (from
Leicester TigersLeicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
) Chris Mayor
Chris Mayor
Chris Mayor born 19 May 1982 in Wigan, England is a former Rugby League player for Wigan Warriors and currently a rugby union player for the London Wasps in the Aviva Premiership....
(from
Gran Parma) Simon McIntyre (from Sale SharksSale Sharks
Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...
) Steve Thompson (from
Leeds Carnegie) Jérémy Castex (from NarbonneRC Narbonne
Racing Club de Narbonne Méditerannée is a French rugby union club that play in the second-level Rugby Pro D2, after finishing at the bottom of the 2006-07 Top 14 table....
) Charlie Ingall (from
TynedaleTynedale R.F.C.
Tynedale R.F.C. is a rugby union team that is situated in the North East of England and currently playing in National League 1. It was founded in 1876. Their first match was against Elswick at Hexham on 30 December 1876...
) Ross Filipo
Ross Filipo
Ross Ami Filipo is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who currently plays for London Wasps in the Aviva Premiership.-New Zealand:...
(from
BayonneAviron Bayonnais
Aviron Bayonnais is a French rugby union club from Bayonne in Pyrénées-Atlantiques that currently competes in the top level of the French league system, in the Top 14 competition...
) Jonathan Poff
Jonathan Poff
Jonathan Poff is a rugby union player currently playing for the London Wasps in the Aviva Premiership...
(from
TasmanTasman Rugby Union
The Tasman Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union at the top of the South Island in New Zealand. It is New Zealand's newest provincial union, founded in 2006 with the amalgamation of the existing Marlborough and Nelson Bays sub unions...
) Hugo Southwell
Hugo Southwell
Hugo Finlay Grant Southwell is a Scottish rugby union footballer. He plays as a fullback, centre, wing or scrum half....
(from
Stade Français) Marco WentzelMarco Wentzel
Marco Wentzel is a rugby union player, formerly with Leicester Tigers, and also Leeds Carnegie in the Aviva Premiership, and now plying his trade with London Wasps, joining fellow team-mate Steve Thompson at the Wycombe based club. Wentzel plays as a lock or in the back-row.-External links:*...
(from
Leeds Carnegie) James HarrisJames Harris (rugby player)
James Harris is a Welsh rugby union player. A flanker, he was selected for the Wales national rugby union team squad in 2007 and has also represented Wales Under 20's. He made his debut for the Newport Gwent Dragons regional team 30 September 2006 having previously played for Bedwas RFC...
(from
BlackheathBlackheath R.C.
Blackheath Football Club is a rugby football club based in Blackheath in south-east London, now playing at the Rectory Field . It was founded in 1858 and is the oldest open rugby club in the world...
) Nicky Robinson (from
Gloucester) Players Out
Ben JacobsBen Jacobs
Ben Jacobs is an Australian rugby union footballer contracted to Guinness Premiership team London Wasps. Jacobs was a member of the inargural ARC winning Central Coast Rays side in 2007. He has now signed with London Wasps.-External links:...
(to
Kyuden VoltexKyuden Voltex
Kyuden Voltex is a Japanese rugby team owned by Kyushu Electric Power Co. . The nickname "Voltex" is a conflation of "Voltage" and "Techniques" and was decided after the team won promotion to the Top League. The team is based in Kashii, Fukuoka and from the 2007-8 season is playing in the...
) Steve Kefu (to
Bay of PlentyBay of Plenty Steamers
The Bay of Plenty Steamers are the top representative team under the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union in New Zealand. They compete in the ITM Cup. They have a total of 20 All Blacks, the latest being Tanerau Latimer in 2009...
) Charlie Beech
Charlie Beech
Charlie Beech is a rugby union player for Bath in the Aviva Premiership after signing from London Wasps in the Summer of 2011. He plays as a prop.Beech represented England at the U19 World Championship in 2006...
(to
BathBath Rugby
Bath Rugby is an English professional rugby union club that is based in the city of Bath. They play in the Aviva Premiership league...
) Tom French (to
Barking) Seb JewellSeb Jewell
Seb Jewell is a rugby union player for Wasps in the Guinness Premiership.-External links:*...
(to
London Welsh) Josh LewseyJosh Lewsey
Owen Joshua Lewsey MBE is a former English rugby union footballer who played fullback, wing or centre for Wasps.-Career:...
- Retiring Will Matthews Simon Shaw
Simon Shaw
Simon Dalton Shaw MBE is an English rugby union player who plays at lock for Toulon and England.-Biography:...
(to
ToulonRC Toulonnais
RC Toulonnais is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
) Mark van Gisbergen
Mark van Gisbergen
Mark van Gisbergen is a rugby union footballer who plays at full back for Lyon and England. He is nicknamed 'Giz' or 'Gizzy'....
(to
LyonLyon OU
Lyon Olympique Universitaire or LOU is a French rugby union team that competes in the Top 14, the first level of the country's professional league system. They earned their spot in the Top 14 by winning the 2010–11 title of the second-tier Pro D2....
) Dave Walder
Dave Walder
David John Hume Walder is a rugby union footballer who plays at fly-half for Wasps. He joined London Wasps from Newcastle Falcons in the summer of 2006, and he played a large part in his teams first win, against the Saracens...
(to
Mitsubishi Dynaboars) Joe Ward (to Sale SharksSale Sharks
Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...
) Dan Ward-Smith
Dan Ward-Smith
Dan Ward-Smith was a professional rugby union player who plays at Number Eight for London Wasps. He can also cover Flanker and Second Row, making him a useful forward to have in the Wasps squad.-Career:...
- Retiring Serge Betsen
Serge Betsen
Serge Betsen Tchoua is a French rugby union player who plays as a flanker for London Wasps at club level and formerly for internationally...
Michael Mayhew
Michael Mayhew
Michael Mayhew is a fictional character in the Honorverse, a series of military science fiction novels written by David Weber.Michael Mayhew is the much younger brother of Benjamin Mayhew IX, Protector of Grayson...
(to
North HarbourNorth Harbour Rugby Union
The North Harbour Rugby Union , commonly referred to colloquially as North Harbour or simply Harbour, is a provincial rugby team which competes in the ITM Cup , the successor to the country's former domestic competition, the National Provincial Championship .-Area:Harbour Rugby encompasses a...
) Marty Veale
Marty Veale
Marty Veale is a rugby union player who plays at lock for Northland in the ITM Cup competition.-Playing career:...
(to
NorthlandNorthland Rugby Union
The Northland Rugby Football Union is the governing body of rugby union in the Northland region of New Zealand.-History:Rugby was first played in Northland in the 1870s, and the first union was set up in the province in 1895, known as the Marsden Football Union. The Northland union was founded in...
) David Lemi
David Lemi
David Lemi is a professional rugby player who plays on the wing for Glasgow Warriors in the RaboDirect Pro12 after signing from London Wasps in November 2011. Weighing in at 75 kg and only measuring 1m75, he is one of the smaller professional rugby players...
(to
Glasgow WarriorsGlasgow Warriors
The Glasgow Warriors, formerly Glasgow Rugby, are one of two professional rugby union teams in Scotland, Edinburgh being the other. They play in the RaboDirect Pro12 and their home ground is Firhill Stadium, also the home of Partick Thistle Football Club.-History:Glasgow Rugby were created to...
) Shaun Ruwers
Shaun Ruwers
Shaun Ruwers is a South African rugby union player for Stourbridge in National League 1. He joined London Wasps on an initial 4-month deal in September 2010....
(to
WaterlooWaterloo R.F.C.
Waterloo Football Club is an English Rugby Union team based at St Anthonys Road, Blundellsands, Merseyside. It celebrated its 125th season in 2007/08, having been founded in 1882 by brothers Sidney and Harry Hall and George Abercrombie. From 1882 until 1884 the club was known as Serpentine after...
) Andy Powell
Andy Powell (rugby player)
Andy Powell is a Welsh international rugby union player now playing his club rugby for Sale Sharks. He is a back row forward who has played for both the Wales sevens team and the Wales national rugby union team.-Rugby union career:...
(to
Sale SharksSale Sharks
Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...
)
Honours
- English Champions titles: 6
- 1989/90*, 1996/97**, 2002/03, 2003/04, 2004/05, 2007/08
- Runners-up 3
- 1987/88*, 1990/91*, 1992/93*
- RFU Tetley's Bitter Cup & Powergen Cup / Powergen Anglo Welsh Cup titles: 3
- 1998/99**, 1999/2000, 2005/06
- Runners-up 4
- 1985/86*, 1986/87*, 1994/95*, 1997/98**
- Heineken CupHeineken CupThe Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
titles: 2- 2003/04, 2006/07
- Parker Pen Challenge CupEuropean Challenge CupThe European Challenge Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Amlin Challenge Cup, is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup. The cup was known as the Parker Pen Shield from 2001 to 2003 and Parker Pen Challenge Cup from 2003 to 2005. The European...
titles: 1- 2002/03
- Middlesex 7sMiddlesex 7sThe Middlesex Sevens is a rugby union sevens tournament held annually at Twickenham stadium in London, England. It was first held in 1926, and started by Dr J.A. Russell-Cargill, a London based Scot...
Tournament titles: 5- 1948*, 1952*, 1985*, 1993*, 2006
- Runners-up: 4
- 1933*, 1951*, 1996*, 2005
- Guinness A LeagueGuinness A LeagueThe Aviva A League was launched in 2003. It runs parallel to the Aviva Premiership. Split into Northern and Southern conferences, it comprises 13 sides. Premiership rugby union clubs select players from their Academy and First Team squads to make up their A League teams. This gives both young and...
titles: 2- 2006/07, 2007/08
- Runners-up: 2
- 2004/05, 2008/09
- (* As Wasps FCWasps FCWasps FC is the amateur side of the Wasps rugby union club formed in 1867. The men's first team was split from Wasps FC at the turn of professionalism, for the 1996-97 season, to become Wasps RFC, owned by Chris Wright, and later became London Wasps in the summer of 1999...
) - (** As Wasps RFC)
Head Coach/Director of Rugby
| ? ? or is a letter derived from the Latin alphabet. Both glyphs of the majuscule and minuscule forms of this letter are based on the rotated form of a minuscule e; a similar letter with identical minuscule is used in the Pan-Nigerian Alphabet and some alphabets based on the African reference... |
1867–1981 | ||
| Rob Smith | 1981–1999 | Rob Smith is currently London Wasps academy director (February 2008) Director of Rugby until 1999, Head Coach until 1996. | |
| Nigel Melville Nigel Melville Nigel David Melville is a former England national rugby union team scrum half and captain.He became the youngest player to captain England on his début when he led them against Australia in November 1984. He went onto make another twelve appearances over the next four years.He attended Aireborough... |
1996–2002 | Current president of USA Rugby USA Rugby USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. It is divided into seven territorial Unions: Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, Pacific Coast, Southern California, South, and West... , the governing body for the sport in the United States. |
|
| Warren Gatland Warren Gatland Warren David Gatland is a former New Zealand rugby footballer and the current head coach of the Wales national team.Gatland was born in Hamilton, New Zealand and educated at Hamilton Boys' High School and Waikato University... |
2002–2005 | Current Wales Wales national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with... head coach. |
|
| Ian McGeechan Ian McGeechan Sir Ian Robert McGeechan OBE is a Scottish former rugby union player and coach. His nickname is "Geech".-Playing career:... |
2005–2009 | Director of Rugby at Bath Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is an English professional rugby union club that is based in the city of Bath. They play in the Aviva Premiership league... . |
|
| Tony Hanks | 2009–2011 | ||
| Leon Holden | 2011 | Interim Director of Rugby until end of 2010-11 season. | |
| Dai Young Dai Young David "Dai" Young is a Welsh former rugby union and rugby league player, presently Director of Rugby at London Wasps.Born in Aberdare in 1967, Young lived in Penywaun for many years, and was regularly seen training with his father on the local sports field, now occupied by the Welsh-language... |
2011– |
Notable former players
| Ben Jacobs Ben Jacobs Ben Jacobs is an Australian rugby union footballer contracted to Guinness Premiership team London Wasps. Jacobs was a member of the inargural ARC winning Central Coast Rays side in 2007. He has now signed with London Wasps.-External links:... Lachlan Mitchell Lachlan Mitchell Lachlan Mitchell born 30 September 1987 in Australia is a rugby union player for Melbourne Rebels in the Super Rugby competition. He plays as a centre wing and fullback.-Melbourne Rebels:... Norm Hadley Norm Hadley Norman Hadley is a former professional rugby union player."Stormin' Norman" was a massive 6 foot 7", 21-stone lock. He played professionally first for London Wasps and then Bedford Blues in the 1990s. In Canada he played for James Bay and UBCOB Ravens . He earned an M.B.A... Gareth Rees Gareth Rees Gareth Lloyd Rees is a former Canadian international rugby union footballer who played at fly-half and full back positions. Rees played for several British club sides, including Wasps and Harlequins. He won 55 caps for Canada, captaining them on 23 occasions and scoring 487 test points, still a... Simon Amor Simon Amor Simon Daniel Edward Amor is an English rugby union footballer who plays at scrum-half or fly-half for London Scottish and is a former captain of the England Sevens squad... Rob Andrew Rob Andrew Christopher Robert "Rob" Andrew MBE , nicknamed "Squeaky", is a former English rugby union footballer and currently Director of Operations at the RFU. He was formerly the Director of Rugby of Newcastle Falcons. As a player, Andrew was assured in his kicking and defensive skills off both feet... Pat Barnard Pat Barnard Pat Barnard is an English-qualified rugby union player for CA Brive in the Top 14.Pat Barnard's position of choice is as a prop.... Charlie Beech Charlie Beech Charlie Beech is a rugby union player for Bath in the Aviva Premiership after signing from London Wasps in the Summer of 2011. He plays as a prop.Beech represented England at the U19 World Championship in 2006... James Buckland James Buckland James Buckland is a rugby union player who plays at hooker for London Irish in the Aviva Premiership.... Danny Cipriani Danny Cipriani Daniel Jerome Cipriani is an English rugby union footballer. He plays fly-half, centre and fullback. He has played for London Wasps and England. He's currently playing his first season of Super Rugby as a member of the inaugural Melbourne Rebels squad.-Biography:Danny Cipriani is mixed-race, his... Maurice Colclough Maurice Colclough Maurice John Colclough was an international rugby union player. He was selected for the 1980 British Lions tour to South Africa and the 1983 British Lions tour to New Zealand, playing in all four internationals each tour. He was a member of the England team which won the Grand Slam in 1980... Lawrence Dallaglio Lawrence Dallaglio Lorenzo Bruno Nero "Lawrence" Dallaglio, OBE is a retired English rugby union player and former captain of the English national team. He played as a flanker or number eight for London Wasps and never played for another club, having arrived at Sudbury as a teenager... Matt Dawson Matt Dawson Matthew James Sutherland "Daws" Dawson, MBE is a retired English rugby union player who played scrum half for Wasps and Northampton Saints. During his international career he toured with the British and Irish Lions three times and was part of England's 2003 Rugby World Cup winning side... Ayoola Erinle Ayoola Erinle Ayoola Erinle is an England international rugby union player currently with Nottingham Rugby. He was educated at The Oratory School and at King's College London, representing both his school 1st XV and King's College Rugby Club 1st XV.A big, strong and a powerful runner, Erinle was one of the... Tom French Tom French Tom French is a rugby union player for London Wasps in the Guinness Premiership. His position of choice is as at prop.... Andy Gomarsall Andy Gomarsall Andrew Charles Thomas Gomarsall MBE is a rugby union player who plays at scrum-half for Leeds Carnegie and England.He previously played for Gloucester Rugby, Bedford and Wasps... Phil Greening Phil Greening Phil Greening is a former English rugby union footballer. Greening finished his rugby career with London Wasps in 2005. During his career he earned 24 caps for England, as well as going to Australia with the British and Irish Lions in 2001.His rugby career started at his place of birth, Gloucester... Rob Hoadley Rob Hoadley Rob Hoadley born 28 March 1980 in Hammersmith, London, England is a rugby union player released by London Wasps in 2008. Rob Hoadley's position of choice on the rugby pitch is as a centre. However, off the pitch, Rob plays darts at the Nelson Pub in Whitton, where he competes in the Monday Night... James Haskell James Haskell James Haskell is an English professional Rugby Union player who currently plays for the Top League team Ricoh Black Rams in Japan and internationally for England.-Career:... Seb Jewell Seb Jewell Seb Jewell is a rugby union player for Wasps in the Guinness Premiership.-External links:*... Aadel Kardooni Aadel Kardooni Aadel Kardooni is a British-Iranian former professional rugby union player.He is the first and only Iranian rugby union player to ever play professionally.-Playing career:... Alex King Alex King Alexander David King is a rugby union footballer who played at fly-half for ASM Clermont Auvergne and formerly Wasps. King is currently a coach at ASM Clermont Auvergne.... |
Josh Lewsey Josh Lewsey Owen Joshua Lewsey MBE is a former English rugby union footballer who played fullback, wing or centre for Wasps.-Career:... Will Matthews Will Matthews Will Matthews may refer to:*Will Matthews , rugby union player*Will Matthews , rugby league player for the Gold Coast Titans*Will Matthews , American football player, see 2006 Detroit Lions season... Nigel Melville Nigel Melville Nigel David Melville is a former England national rugby union team scrum half and captain.He became the youngest player to captain England on his début when he led them against Australia in November 1984. He went onto make another twelve appearances over the next four years.He attended Aireborough... Tom Palmer Jeff Probyn Jeff Probyn Jeff Probyn is an English former Rugby Union player.The Askeans, Streatham and Wasps prop was selected in England's squad for the 1987 Rugby World Cup, but Probyn did not make his international debut until 1988, at the age of 31, against France... Peter Richards Peter Richards Peter Richards may refer to:*Peter Richards, rugby union player*Peter Richards , , artist & curator, Belfast*Peter Richards, a supporting character from Dallas, played by Christopher Atkins... Shane Roiser Shane Roiser Shane Roiser is a former rugby Union player with London Wasps whom he joined in 1994 from Rosslyn Park.He was educated at Cumnor House School, Croydon... Paul Sackey Paul Sackey Paul Henry Sackey is an English rugby union footballer who currently plays at wing for Stade Français in the Top 14.As of 28 February 2009 he has 22 full England caps... Paul Sampson Richard Sharp Richard Sharp Richard Adrian William Sharp from Cornwall, was educated at Blundell's School and at Balliol College, University of Oxford. He was a former Cornish rugby player at Redruth R.F.C., Wasps FC, Bristol FC and England rugby union fly-half and captain. He played for England while at Oxford and led... Simon Shaw Simon Shaw Simon Dalton Shaw MBE is an English rugby union player who plays at lock for Toulon and England.-Biography:... George Skivington George Skivington George Skivington, born 3 December 1982 in Warrington, England is a rugby union player for Leicester Tigers in the Aviva Premiership. He plays as a lock.... Mark van Gisbergen Mark van Gisbergen Mark van Gisbergen is a rugby union footballer who plays at full back for Lyon and England. He is nicknamed 'Giz' or 'Gizzy'.... Phil Vickery Tom Voyce Tom Voyce Thomas Michael Dunstan Voyce is an English rugby union footballer who plays at wing or fullback for Gloucester and England.-Biography:... Dave Walder Dave Walder David John Hume Walder is a rugby union footballer who plays at fly-half for Wasps. He joined London Wasps from Newcastle Falcons in the summer of 2006, and he played a large part in his teams first win, against the Saracens... Joe Ward Dan Ward-Smith Dan Ward-Smith Dan Ward-Smith was a professional rugby union player who plays at Number Eight for London Wasps. He can also cover Flanker and Second Row, making him a useful forward to have in the Wasps squad.-Career:... Fraser Waters Fraser Waters Fraser Henry Hamilton Waters is a rugby union footballer who plays at Centre for Treviso.Waters grew up in Cape Town before moving, aged 11, with his family to Jersey in the Channel Islands... Peter Yarranton Peter Yarranton Sir Peter George Yarranton was chairman of the United Kingdom Sports Council from 1989 to 1994, and a notable figure in the world of rugby union, both as a player and as an administrator, for more than 40 years.... Serge Betsen Serge Betsen Serge Betsen Tchoua is a French rugby union player who plays as a flanker for London Wasps at club level and formerly for internationally... Raphaël Ibañez Raphaël Ibanez Raphaël Ibañez is a retired French rugby union footballer. A hooker, he was also a former captain of the France national team.-Club career:... |
Rob Henderson Rob Henderson Robert Alexander James Henderson is a rugby union footballer who plays at centre for Esher RFC. He has represented Ireland with 32 caps and toured with the 2001 British and Irish Lions.... Johnny O'Connor Johnny O'Connor Johnny O'Connor is a rugby union player for Connacht in the RaboDirect Pro12, and his position of choice is as a Flanker.He has played for Wasps in the Guinness Premiership before returning to Connacht.... Eoin Reddan Eoin Reddan Eoin Reddan is an Irish rugby union player who plays at scrum half. He attended school at Crescent College Comprehensive where he captained the school side. On leaving school he studied at the University of Limerick.... Jeremy Staunton Jeremy Staunton Jeremy Staunton is an Irish rugby union fly-half, currently playing for English club Leicester Tigers in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. He has also played for Ireland.He was educated at St Munchin's College Limerick.... Craig Dowd Craig Dowd Craig Dowd born 26 October 1969 in Auckland, New Zealand is a former rugby union player and current coach. He played 60 test matches for New Zealand between 1993 and 2000, spending his entire provincial career with Auckland. He spent his entire Super 12 career, 64 matches, with the Auckland Blues,... Ian Jones (rugby union) Michael Mayhew Michael Mayhew Michael Mayhew is a fictional character in the Honorverse, a series of military science fiction novels written by David Weber.Michael Mayhew is the much younger brother of Benjamin Mayhew IX, Protector of Grayson... Marty Veale Marty Veale Marty Veale is a rugby union player who plays at lock for Northland in the ITM Cup competition.-Playing career:... Daniel Leo Daniel Leo This article is about the rugby player. For the boss of the Genovese crime family see Daniel Leo Daniel Leo is a Samoan rugby union footballer.-Career:Leo can play in the second row or as a back row forward... Trevor Leota Trevor Leota Trevor Leota is a Samoan rugby league player for Bridgend Blue Bulls in Wales.-Career:He is a hooker and has been widely recognised as one of the hardest tacklers in the game. Debuted for Western Samoa in 1995 during a tour of the UK... Thom Evans Thom Evans Thom Evans is a former Scottish international rugby union player. He last played on the wingfor Glasgow Warriors in the Magners League. His rugby career ended aged 24 on his 10th appearance for Scotland when he incurred a serious neck injury.-Career:Evans was educated at Wellington College,... Kenny Logan Kenny Logan Kenny Logan is a rugby union footballer who played wing for London Scottish.- Career :As a schoolboy, Logan had football trials as a goalkeeper for Dundee United and Hearts. He left school at 16 and began his rugby career with Stirling County, making his senior debut at 17.In 1996, he joined Wasps... Andy Reed Harry Bowcott Harry Bowcott Harry Bowcott was a Welsh international rugby union centre who played club rugby for Cardiff and London Welsh and later became president of the Welsh Rugby Union.-Club career:... Warren Fury Warren Fury Warren Fury is a Wales international rugby union player. He currently plays club rugby for Leeds Carnegie in the Guinness Premiership.... Mike Griffiths Mike Griffiths Michael "Mike" Griffiths is a former Welsh rugby union player and British Lion, currently coaching Ystrad Rhondda RFC in the Welsh Rugby Union Division 2 East. He plied his trade with Pontypridd RFC between 1997 and 2003, making 73 appearances.Griffiths's father is George Griffiths, a builder, and... John Gwilliam John Gwilliam John Albert Gwilliam was a Welsh rugby union 'No 8' who played international rugby for Wales and club rugby for Cambridge University, Edinburgh Wanderers, Gloucester, Newport, London Welsh, Llanelli and Wasps... Rob Howley Rob Howley Robert Howley is a former Welsh rugby union footballer. He was considered one of the greatest ever scrum-halves and gained 59 caps for Wales, 22 of them as captain.Howley made his Wales debut in February 1996... Andy Powell Andy Powell (rugby player) Andy Powell is a Welsh international rugby union player now playing his club rugby for Sale Sharks. He is a back row forward who has played for both the Wales sevens team and the Wales national rugby union team.-Rugby union career:... |
External links
- Official site
- Official Picture Site
- Waspies fansite
- Drunken Wasps fansite
- London Wasps on Rugby15
- London Wasps (Adams ParkAdams ParkAdams Park is a football stadium in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. It is the home ground of Wycombe Wanderers F.C. and the Aviva Premiership Rugby Union club London Wasps...
) at Google Maps - London Wasps Training ground (Twyford Avenue) at Google Maps
- PITCH working with Wasps