WASPS back Lee Smith is a man in a rush.

The countdown to the season’s climax has begun and he doesn’t want to miss it.

Wasps might be out of the LV Cup, but the 22-year-old is thinking about the Guinness Premiership play-offs and the Amlin Challenge Cup and, after winning just about everything there is to win in rugby league, he didn’t cross codes to be kicking his heels when the big games come along.

He said: “The differences [between league and union] are massive and I still need to learn the game.

“It’s not going to come overnight, but it’s just a matter of getting more game-time under my belt and hopefully I can pick it up in time for the business end of the season.”

Smith has had just 89 minutes on the pitch since arriving at Wasps in November.

But he has already tried full back, wing and centre and at the moment believes full back suits him better.

He said: “I prefer full back because you’ve got a lot of space and can run at a broken line, but I’m easy and I’ll play wherever Tony [Hanks] and Shaun [Edwards] want me to.

“We’ll sit down and see what’s best for the team.”

Smith stepped into Tom Varndell’s position on the wing at Newcastle on Sunday, and then ended the game in midfield.

He said: “I need to get a few games under my belt.

“The pitch didn’t help wingers get involved but it was probably a good day to get out on that boggy pitch and get going.

“I kicked one chance away which was my mistake – I probably should have kept it in hand – and I’ve got to work on standing in the right place.

“Good fly halves will probably catch me out, but it’s for me to go back and analyse and hopefully learn from it.”

Hanks though, doesn’t think it will take long.

He said: “I don’t think Lee is too far away. We’ve just got to get him where we want him physically, and get his conditioning rugby-specific because it’s a different game in terms of the conditioning required.

“It’s very different being at the bottom of a ruck or maul.

“But what’s pleasing is he seems to be quite natural at some of the rugby work – post-tackle work and kicking, probably the two areas you thought he’d have been that good at it, he’s got ability.”

Full back and centre are the postions Hanks invisions for Smith long-term, but he warns him to expect a tough battle for a shirt.

He said: “We’ve got guys who are individually performing quite well, so he’s going to have to work hard to get that spot.”

The potential is huge though, and a fully-firing Smith could be the shot in the arm Wasps need in the run-in.

Sale looks like a must-win fixture after successive Premiership defeats and Smith says beating Newcastle was a real tonic.

He said: “We needed to get a win under our belts and we can carry that into the three big Premiership games coming up.

“We’re looking to play good rugby and score tries and we’ve had a few losses when we didn’t deserve to lose.

“But it’s good to see we can defend and grind out a tough victory when we need to.”