Cooper-Woolley: We can’t afford to lose at home

Jake Cooper-Woolley says that, if Wasps want to finish in the top half of the table, they can’t afford to let sides win at the Ricoh Arena.

Wasps’ bonus-point win over London Irish last weekend saw them move up into fifth place in the Aviva Premiership table. With a targeted top-six finish from this campaign, the men in black and gold know that a strong home record will have to be a key feature of their season.

With the visit of Exeter Chiefs this weekend, Wasps face a side currently second in the league and Jake Cooper-Woolley says they cannot afford to let sides around them take easy points from trips to Coventry.

“If you want to be in the top six, pushing for the top four, you have to beat the sides around and above you because you can’t afford to give them points. Exeter have had a great start to the season sitting in second place and this weekend is a massive game for us if we want to catch up with them. We can’t afford to let them get four points at the Ricoh Arena. They’ll be one of the teams in and around the mix come the end of the season so it’s vital that we take points off them rather than the other way around.”

Wasps’ win last weekend was the fourth in succession after wins over Gloucester, Leinster and Toulon in the previous three weeks. Cooper-Woolley says the motivation for that win at Twickenham was easy to come by.

“We said all week that we only get the opportunities to play sides like Leinster and Toulon because of our Premiership form. If we don’t get results in the league we don’t get big days like that. If we want to stay in the European competition we have to make sure we back up our performances in the Premiership and end up in that top six. We know that if we want to be there at the end of the season, we have to beat sides like London Irish and to get a result like that at the weekend was really pleasing.

“We knew it was going to be tough against London Irish and their defence was really strong. A win is definitely coming for them, they’ve got good players all over the pitch. It’s inevitable that they will get a win soon and we just hoped it wouldn’t be against us. We were a bit flat compared to where we’ve been in the last few weeks, but we always knew it was going to be tough to break them down and we’re more than happy to come away with five points after what wasn’t one of our best performances this season.”

This week, Wasps have been preparing for an in-form Exeter Chiefs side, who have won four out of their first five domestic fixtures. Cooper-Woolley says they pose a very balanced side, with threats all over the field.

“They’ve got a strong set piece, really good at scrum time, good lineout, awesome back row with some big carriers similar to us and obviously they’ve got some young exciting English backs who are pushing to play international rugby. We know they’ll be difficult to play against. They’re full of enthusiasm, full of energy and they’re definitely one of the toughest teams in the league to play against.

"When they get it right, they are really formidable so we know we’ll have to be near our best. We have to forget about last week, move on, and make sure we produce a performance good enough to get a win from.”