Wasps gear up for Wycombe return

Wasps play Welsh and then host Connacht next Saturday in their final pre-season game.

Bell said: “ It is billed as a friendly but in rugby there’s no such thing.

“We often bump into London Welsh players when away from the club so it is a great rivalry to have and we are all looking forward to the game.

“We have obviously done a lot of training but match intensity is a very different thing.

“We will have to bring physicality and we’ll be looking to develop the kind of accuracy we showed at the end of last season.”

Bell believes his team are well prepared though after a tough training regime.

He said: "Pre-season is always very difficult. The first few weeks are about getting your body to where you were before and then hopefully pushing yourself a bit further so that you are better prepared than the previous season.

"Games are ultimately what the whole pre-season has been about and we have worked really hard for this so everyone’s really excited about the return of fixtures."

"There are a number of new players in the squad this year so this first game will be a pretty special occasion for them, pulling on a Wasps jersey for the first time and running out at Adams Park.

"For the guys who were here last year it will be a great opportunity to get some rugby under our belts, and to play two games at Adams Park, in front of our own fans, is a real bonus.

"Most of us haven’t played since that last game in Paris so this game will probably be a work-in-progress, blowing out a few cobwebs and getting our structures in place in a competitive environment, but ultimately we want to win.

"We go into every game wanting to perform well and that will be no different for this game."