No Gardens party for Wasps at Northampton tonight (From Bucks Free Press)

Wasps set for severe Saints challenge

8:10am Friday 28th September 2012 in Sport By Alan Feldberg

WITH the benefit of time, those two points against Harlequins are starting to look better and better.

It’s a 200 per cent improvement on last season and certainly a similar return from Franklin’s Gardens tonight would be seen as a triumph.

Wasps director of rugby Dai Young is taking the pragmatic approach.

He said: “You want to come away with something from your away games, but we’re up against it, we know that.

“If we can come away with a win that would be fantastic. If we can come away with a bonus point, well that’s as many as most teams are going to get.

“The big games are your Worcesters at home. You put yourself under pressure if you don’t win those types of games.”

The problem for Wasps is the brute strength of the team that awaits them tonight.

Wasps weren’t able to send Gloucester to a fifth consecutive home loss last week, ending their year-long drought away from home at a Saints side which is formidable anywhere and almost invincible at Franklin’s Gardens would require a huge effort.

Young said: “If you had to put money on it Gloucester would be the one that you’d feel you’d have more chance with, so we’re going to have to be better than we were last weekend.

“Northampton have been in the top four now for three or four years and you’d expect them to be there again this year. They’ve got a proud home record and there aren’t many teams that go there and win.

“So we know the challenge that faces us.

“We came second best to them last season by a large margin and we’re going to have to show that we’ve improved a hell of a lot to get what we want.

“If we want this away win, it’s not going to come much tougher than this weekend.”