Leinster face hell of a battle against Wasps in Coventry

Since rescuing Wasps from the knacker’s yard 18 months ago, Derek Richardson has sent them to Coventry and increased support from 5,000 to almost 30,000 virtually overnight

How ironic, therefore, that Leinster’s position as the last Irish province standing in the Champions’ Cup should depend on their surviving Saturday’s confrontation in the West Midlands with an English club owned by an insurance broker from Dublin.

The occasion will confirm Wasps’ transformation from skid row to the Pied Pipers of the club game, from their cramped base at the end of an industrial estate in High Wycombe to Coventry’s 21st century Ricoh Arena.

Their demolition of Harlequins at The Stoop leaves the team run by Welshman Dai Young one win away from reaching the last eight.

If box-office predictions of a 30,000 attendance for the winner-take-all pool decider ring true, Wasps’ first three matches in Coventry will have drawn almost 75,000.

Richardson, whose personal fortune has been calculated at more than €50m, has launched a revolution by relocating Wasps a long way out of London.

‘This is a long-term challenge which I want to meet head-on,’ he said after buying the club.

An English team under Irish ownership and a Welsh coaching command of Young and former Lions fly-half Stephen Jones pose a real danger to Leinster’s push for a home quarter-final.