Premiership final: Why I’d love to see resurgent Wasps spoil Exeter’s double dream
If you had to put your mortgage on a team to win the Premiership final then, based on their entire 2019-20 campaign, it would have to be Exeter.
The Chiefs proved that they are the best team in Europe by lifting the Champions Cup last weekend.
Completing the double with victory over Wasps in Saturday’s Premiership final would be the perfect end to the season for Rob Baxter and his players.
The only question about their credentials lies in how fatigued, mentally and emotionally, they have been left by their European success.
Wasps, meanwhile, have seen their preparations badly disrupted by an outbreak of coronavirus.
But I don’t think the outcome of this match is a foregone conclusion by any means.
Lee Blackett has got Wasps playing unbelievably good rugby since the post-lockdown resumption of games in August.
Wasps are the Premiership’s most in-form team on paper, having won eight of their last nine league games.
They then wiped the floor with Bristol in the play-off semi-final.
A Premiership final to savour
In the last three months they have performed with style and confidence. It has been sensational and a breath of fresh air.
They are very, very dangerous and still pose a threat to Exeter’s double aspirations.
In Jack Willis, Wasps also have a player who can heavily disrupt Exeter’s relentlessness and stick-it-up-yer-jumper gameplan.
His turnover rate since the resumption has been staggering.
The doubts over Wasps are all down to the problems posed by their coronavirus outbreak over the past week or so.
How many of the players are fit enough to play? How much have they been able to prepare? And how big a distraction has it been?
Whatever the answer, I’m so glad Wasps have been cleared to play rather than having to forfeit their place at Twickenham.
It would have been rubbish if Bristol had been drafted in to face Exeter, and they have been honest enough to say they didn’t want that either.
Part of me wants Exeter to win and complete their tremendous rise, 10 years after their promotion from the Championship.
But another part of me has really enjoyed the turnaround that Wasps have achieved.
That’s what excites me more and I always like an underdog, so I’d love to see them crowned champions.
Ireland can kick-start autumn programme
Ireland’s Six Nations clash with Italy on Saturday has been sapped of some excitement because it is taking place seven months late.
It’s really unfortunate for the Six Nations, which has inevitably suffered from some disengagement.
But a resounding Irish win would still set up a brilliant finale for next week, in which they, England and France vie for the title.
It would also inject more momentum into the Autumn Nations Cup, which has given greater meaning to the internationals normally held at this time of year.
World Rugby missed an opportunity to unify the calendar this year, but this competition can make the best of that situation.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance, experts in leadership development & behavioural change. Follow Ollie on Twitter and on LinkedIn.