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Dai Young relieved of first-team duties at Wasps
By Online Editors
Wasps boss Dai Young has been relieved of his duties ahead of the club’s weekend Gallagher Premiership derby with midlands rivals Leicester - but hasn’t officially left the club.
The 51-year-old ex-Wales prop was due to take a media conference on Monday, but defence coach Ian Costello was instead thrust into the seat as the director of rugby was apparently in a meeting with chief executive Stephen Vaughan, the ex-Gloucester CEO who took up the reins in Coventry last August.
Nothing major was read into Young’s absence at the time but it has since emerged that his position is now under threat after Wasps issued a statement on Tuesday morning.
It read: “Director of rugby Dai Young will be stepping back from first-team duties for an interim period. Lee Blackett will step up to interim head coach. Further announcements will be made in due course.”
It’s believed a senior management meeting was called at the Ricoh Arena for Tuesday morning. After that was completed, the playing squad was issued with an update at the club’s Broadstreet RFC training ground facility.
(Continue reading below…)
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Young has been the Premiership’s third longest-serving boss, only marginally behind the equally long-serving Rob Baxter at Exeter and Mark McCall at Saracens after joining the club in 2011.
He guided them through a terrible period where their future was threatened by a financial shortfall, but he was to the fore in embedding the ex-London club into the midlands following their move to Coventry in December 2014.
A Premiership final was reached in 2017, but things have on the slide since then. They finished last season in eighth following a star player exodus and are currently in ninth spot this term following just three wins in nine outings ahead of Saturday’s trip to Welford Road.
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Latest Comments
No he's just limited in what he can do. Like Scott Robertson. And Eddie Jones.
Sometimes it doesn't work out so you have to go looking for another national coach who supports his country and believes in what he is doing. Like NZ replacing Ian Foster. And South Africa bringing Erasmus back in to over see Neinbar.
This is the real world. Not the fantasy oh you don't need passion for your country for international rugby. Ask a kiwi, or a south african or a frenchman.
Go to commentsDont complain too much or start jumping to conclusions.
Here in NZ commentators have been blabbing that our bottom pathway competition the NPC (provincial teams only like Taranaki, Wellington etc)is not fit for purpose ie supplying players to Super rugby level then they started blabbing that our Super Rugby comp (combined provincial unions making up, Crusaders, Hurricanes, etc) wasn't good enough without the South African teams and for the style SA and the northern powers play at test level.
Here is what I reckon, Our comps are good enough for how WE want to play rugby not how Ireland, SA, England etc play. Our comps are high tempo, more rucks, mauls, running plays, kicks in play, returns, in a game than most YES alot of repetition but that builds attacking skillsets and mindsets. I don't want to see world teams all play the same they all have their own identity and style as do England (we were scared with all this kind of talk when they came here) World powerhouse for a reason, losses this year have been by the tiniest of margins and could have gone either way in alot of games. Built around forward power and blitz defence they have got a great attack Wingers are chosen for their Xfactor now not can they chase up and unders all day. Stick to your guns its not far off
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