Wasps feeling the sting of ‘hurtful’ season

ENGLAND centre Riki Flutey admits Wasps are “hurting” ahead of tonight’s Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-final clash against London rivals Harlequins.

Flutey and company are experiencing, by their own high standards, a dismal season. Wasps currently lie eighth in the Aviva Premiership with no hope of claiming a title play-off place, while their Heineken Cup campaign ended through a pool stage exit almost three months ago. Only the Challenge Cup remains for Flutey and company to salvage something this term, with the tournament winners claiming silverware and prized Heineken qualification.

“It is going to be a huge match and a possible avenue to qualify for next season’s Heineken Cup,” he said, ahead of the Twickenham Stoop encounter. “We are hurting after our last couple of defeats, and there is a short turnaround for us after playing last Sunday, but we have to put that behind us and concentrate on a hugely-important tie. That means we have to cut out the penalties and turnovers we gave away against London Irish. If you give any team around 15 of those a match, you are going to struggle to win. If we can do that, we are confident we can beat anyone.”