When the final Wasps shirt disappears down the Adams Park tunnel for the last time this weekend it will bring the curtain down on 12 eventful years in the history of High Wycombe.

Win, lose or draw, it will be a sad day for the town.

Fittingly, the black and golds will sign off at the top, playing in Europe’s premier club competition. I say fittingly, because it completes the circle.

In their first season at Adams Park they won the domestic league and cup double, and a year later they were crowned champions of Europe. All told, Wasps brought eight trophies back to Wycombe during a glittering period when they were one of, if not the, most successful club side in Europe.

Not even the mighty Leicester Tigers could compete with them during that glorious spell.

Of course, there will be a minority of readers who will say good riddance, a few sad souls who haven’t appreciated having another elite team on their patch. They’re entitled to their view. But I’ve always thought the ‘them or us’ attitude was small-minded compared to a mutually-beneficial ‘them and us’ approach.

And it’s worth remembering that Wasps have sold more than 1.5 million tickets at Adams Park in the past decade and a bit. With more than 80 per cent of their season ticket holders from the BFP catchment area, I think they’re entitled to a view as well.

So too are the family and friends of Amersham’s Josh Lewsey, who won the World Cup while playing for Wasps, or the classmates of RGS High Wycombe old boys Matt Dawson, Tom Rees and, most recently Christian Wade.

For me personally, covering them has been a privilege and a highlight of my working life. I was a football player/fan/reporter beforehand - I even had to look up the numbers and positions in rugby union when I first started reporting on Wasps.

With so little knowledge of the sport, interviewing the likes of Sir Ian McGeechan, Shaun Edwards and Lawrence Dallaglio was daunting to say the least.

But the club were always accommodating and approachable, and although, like them, I have now moved on, I left with some treasured memories.

I remember the electricity in the air at Adams Park the night Danny Cipriani returned from his broken and dislocated ankle. Remember, this is the player who had taken Jonny Wilkinson’s place in the England team during the Six Nations – and that was when Wilkinson was still in his prime.

I remember Dallaglio’s final game, when he led Wasps to victory over Leicester at Twickenham in the Premiership final. The build-up had all been about his old nemesis Martin Johnson, who was also retiring, but Dallaglio and his team of underdogs knew how to write a storybook ending.

I remember Riki Flutey’s golden season, and Joe Worsley’s remarkable tackling, and Joe Simpson’s wonder tries, and Raf Ibanez, Phil Vickery, Paul Sackey...

Twelve years is no time at all in the life of a town and Wasps will go down as no more than a footnote in High Wycombe’s history, but more’s the pity.

Especially if Wanderers do end up replacing their lost revenue with another, lesser team, and especially if Wasps do end up reclaiming their place at the top of English rugby – just 80 miles further up the motorway.