Wasps welcome Northampton Saints for top four clash
Wasps host Northampton Saints on Sunday as the Ricoh Arena turns yellow for Marie Curie.
Wasps’ scrum-half Joe Simpson understands the need for calm heads, with just four games left to play in the Aviva Premiership, to keep the club on track for a top four, play-off finish.
Dai Young’s men go into this Sunday’s crunch clash with Northampton Saints at the Ricoh Arena (kick-off 3pm) in third place, with a seven-point cushion on fourth-placed Northampton and eight points ahead of Leicester Tigers in fifth.
A win for the home side would see them open a little daylight from the chasing pack and strengthen their play-off hopes, but Simpson says the players are taking one game at a time.
The 27-year-old, who is currently nursing an ankle injury, said: “It’s a tough old Premiership this year and if we lose a couple of games then we’ll be struggling, so we’re just focusing on trying to stay in the top four at the moment and we’ll see where we are as we approach the final couple of games.
“This Sunday’s game is one that both teams will be desperate to win. We want to continue the momentum we’ve built at home, while Northampton will be looking to make up further ground as they are finishing strong after a faltering start to the season.”
Another Wasps’ player with a watching brief over the past few weeks with a knee injury has been 27-year-old Samoan international Alapati Leiua, who is backing Wasps’ fans to be the sixteenth man against Northampton.
He added: “It’s a massive game for the club and there’s going to be a lot of fans there cheering us on, which will really lift the team and I think it is one of the main reasons why our home form has been so strong.
“The boys have been going so well over recent weeks and it’s also great to get the international players back from the 6 Nations as an extra boost as we prepare for some big games, starting with Northampton. We will need the more experienced heads leading from the front as we approach the final run-in and try to secure a play-off spot.
“We love to run the ball and we’ve got players all over the pitch who like to attack and create chances, which makes for exciting rugby and gets the fans off their seats – we just need to keep running and we’ll hopefully be okay.”
‘The Stinger’ clash between Wasps and Northampton this Sunday will see the Ricoh Arena turn yellow as fans and players join together to try to raise awareness and valuable funds for Marie Curie, the UK’s leading charity for people living with any terminal illness and their families.
Both players were speaking during a visit to the Marie Curie Hospice, West Midlands in Solihull, where they were taken on a tour of the hospice and chatted to day care patients to understand first-hand how the money raised at The Stinger match will help patients and their families.
Jo Stradling, Divisional General Manager for the Midlands at Marie Curie, said: “All the staff and patients had a fantastic day at the hospice meeting Wasps’ players and I know everyone at Marie Curie is really looking forward to The Stinger match against Northampton Saints this Sunday.
“Each year Marie Curie cares for over 40,000 people in the UK living with a terminal illness and their loved ones and it’s partnerships like this that enable us to continue our work. A big thank-you to everyone at Wasps for their support.”
David Armstrong, Group Chief Executive Officer of Wasps and Nick Eastwood, Deputy Chairman of Wasps, also joined the tour to see how the hospice makes a difference to peoples’ lives.
David Armstrong added: “We are proud to be supporting Marie Curie in a variety of fundraising activities which are all designed to raise awareness of the great work it does supporting people with terminal illnesses at the Marie Curie Hospice in Solihull, as well as their own homes.
“The visit to the Marie Curie Hospice really brought home the incredible work the nurses and volunteers do to help people when they need it the most.
“The match against Northampton Saints is going to be a monumental occasion with thousands of fans eager to see some scintillating rugby, so we thought it would be a good idea to use this game to help a national charity that does great work in our local area.”
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