Lee Blackett, the Wasps head coach, seems personable and honest. Even before his side’s game against Leicester Tigers kicked off on Sunday, he looked beleaguered. During a pre-match interview with BT Sport, he laid out the difficulty of ongoing contract negotiations as Premiership finances are squeezed. 

“We feel now, at this moment in time, we may lose players,” Blackett admitted starkly. “Before, we could pay players more. We can’t any more. We’re paying players a lot less.” 

Vaea Fifita and Malakai Fekitoa, two All Blacks, would appear likely to be on their way out of Wasps at the end of the current season. Blackett is also dealing with a dizzying injury list. Including Tom West and Fifita, late withdrawals at the weekend, 18 of Wasps’ first-team players were unavailable to face table-topping Tigers.  

With all that in mind, beating Leicester 16-13 and snapping their opponents’ winning streak was a special achievement – not least because they had lost eight of their previous nine matches in all competitions.  

Wasps needed fortune. George Ford missed two relatively straightforward shots at goal. Their only try arrived from this clearance that fell into the hands of Brad Shields after a deflection had played the recipient onside: