Edwards: Rugby is as big as football

1:56pm Friday 20th April 2007

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SHAUN Edwards says club rugby is a match for club football - at least for the next few weeks.

Certainly there is no separating them on the European arena; for Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea - all in the last four of the European Cup - you can read Heineken Cup semi-finalists Wasps, Leicester and Northampton.

Edwards, who won the competition with Wasps in 2004, said: "This is the second time I've been at this stage of the Heineken Cup and it's where, for once, I think club rugby can be compared to club soccer in terms of the stadia, in terms of the interest from the media and in terms of the numbers you get to the grounds. It's very exciting.

"I wake up every morning and I've got knots in my stomach. I can't wait to get to work because of the Heineken Cup.

"My hands were sweating as soon as I woke up this morning - I even washed a couple of dishes for the first time in about six months because I was up so early."

Director of rugby Ian McGeechan knows what he means.

Wasps beat Northampton in a make-or-break Guinness Premiership match last weekend, but McGeechan said Sunday's semi-final re-match is something else entirely.

He said: "It's a different ball game. When you are back into a European game, at the semi-final stage, there's definitley a different feel to everything.

"There is that little bit of tension, little bit of edge all around that goes with Heineken Cup games.

"I thought Northampton played very well last week, but we didn't want to lose the momentum we've been building over the last few weeks."

The loss of Tim Payne for the rest of the season is a big blow though, as Wasps not only miss his pugnacious approach but are also weakened by Phil Vickery's forced front row switch.

McGeechan said: "Tim Payne has been tremendous for us the last couple of years.

"Vicks is good there but it's asking him to do something that he hasn't been doing on a regular basis so we do lose a little bit there.

"And you want your set-pieces going well. I think that's one reason why we've done well, particularly in Europe, because our set-piece has been good."

A glance at the Guinness Premeir table underlines why Wasps are at least warm favourites to continue their European sojourn on Sunday, but McGeechan is wary.

He said: "Northampton have been struggling partly down to the kicking.

"If you look at their games they are only one-score defeats most of the time and sometimes it's just whether the ball goes between the posts or not.

"In rugby terms, since Christmas they have been very competitive without always getting the results."

Relegation looks a likely outcome for Northampton this season, but with Premiership clubs due to boycott the Heineken Cup next season that might be the only way to play in a competition that everyone acknowledges as the showpiece of club rugby.

Edwards said: "I'm a big believer in living in the present and am determined to enjoy this moment.

"What happens next year happens next year. I'll let the politicians get on with that.

"It's our job to prepare the commodity, which we're trying pretty hard to do."