What Wasps’ Move to Coventry Means for the Club and the Premiership

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: October 12, 2014

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The writing was on the wall for Wasps fans when the club dropped the "London" from their moniker before the start of the season but a move to Coventry means more than just alienating their supporters.

In reality, the club has exiled itself from the capital for most of the last 12 seasons, playing their home games at Adams Park in Wycombe, 25 miles from their training base in west London.

Wasps are part of the rich history of London-based clubs, winning two Heineken Cups in the mid-2000s and finishing as league champions on six occasions—three of which came in the modern-day Premiership.

But moving to Coventry will mean the end of the traditional London rivalries with the likes of Saracens and Harlequins and set them up deep in Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints territory.

Unsurprisingly, the move has been unpopular with the Wasps faithful, who will now have to fork out £32 for a return train ticket from London to Coventry to follow their team, or face a 200-mile round trip on the road just to see a "home" game.



But it's not just their own fans who will have to deal with the upheaval, with the Tigers and Saints also wary of new boys taking fans away from their bulging attendance figures.

And attendance figures is what it all came down to for Wasps. No longer could they sustain playing their rugby in front of just 5,700 people—a figure, as reported by the Independent, down from 8,500 four years ago. 

Wasps captain James Haskell told the Guardian's Richard Rae:

I fully understand the unhappiness but once people are informed they’ll realise there is no other option, other than to cut the squad and get relegated.

I’ve read the comments, I know some supporters would be happy with that if it meant staying around the capital but that’s madness, you just discount that.

After all, some people find i...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Rugby Union

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