Depleted and beleaguered Wasps take on high flying Exeter

The domestic cup final showpiece takes place at Twickenham this Saturday.

The match has been overshadowed by an outbreak of COVID that affected one of the participating sides. Wasps’ very participation was threatened by an outbreak earlier this month.

They will be without eleven players against a side who convincingly finished top of the regular and went on to win the European Cup with aplomb defeating Racing 92 in the final.

Wasps cleared to play Exeter  in showpiece final

That eleven is composed of four players, and three staff from screening done last week, and then an additional four from positive tests on Saturday. But due to close proximity, coach Lee Blackett will be without eleven actual players.

Joe Willis and Jacob Umaga have had outstanding seasons.

To see both their names in the starting XV will be a tremendous boost for the Coventry based side.

Captain Joe Launchbury’s presence is perhaps even better news. Tom Willis is also a huge presence and despite the lack of adequate preparation, the very names on the team sheet are bound to give Wasps a morale boost.

Brad Shields’ absence in the back row is a loss as is that of centre Michael Le Bourgeois.

Exeter’s Joe Simmons’ game management for Rob Baxter’s Chiefs side was superb in the European final.

With a historic Champions Cup already secured, Exeter now set their sights on a remarkable double. Surely with all Wasp’s lack of preparation, they will start hot favourites, notwithstanding the stronger than expected Wasps line up.

Form is on the Chiefs side but what about history?

Neither side has exuded a dominance in recent clashes. The last six Premiership clashes between Exeter and Wasps have seen the winner alternate.

Wasps won the last one 46-5 victory at the Ricoh Arena in the final round of the regular season, but Exeter were deep in preparation for the European Cup final having already booked their ticket to the playoffs. We can probably dismiss that as an indicator.

This is Exeter’s firth consecutive final but they have lost three of them, a 23-20 win over Wasps at Twickenham in 2017. That was also the Chiefs only win at the English National Stadium in five previous attempts.

Wasps are searching for a fifth Premiership final victory which would see them tie with Saracens for the most titles in the playoff era but they have not won it since 2008.

Kick off is 6pm and Steve Clare will be reporting for Prost International.

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt