WASPS boss Dai Young believes Sunday’s defeat to Harlequins highlighted a failure within the Wasps squad.

He says their limp 23-16 loss in the Champions Cup was evidence that they are still learning the ability to produce top level performances on a weekly basis.

He said: “This was a bit of a reality check for us. You can’t compete in the Aviva Premiership and hope to be in the top six, and in the Champions Cup, with one good performance and one bad performance.

“Consistency at that intensity is huge.

“I said at the start of the season it was always going to be a challenge giving everything we’ve got on two fronts. It’s a new challenge. It’s not something we’ve done over the last few seasons.

“We were found wanting against Quins. The boys are trying and giving their best, but it looked like there wasn’t enough fuel in the tank.

“That’s the challenge of playing in the top competitions. This time last year we were out in Italy resting half the squad.”