TIM Cardall hopes Wasps can “put things right” against Leicester Tigers this weekend when the two teams clash in the Premiership Rugby Cup at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Wasps suffered a 34-27 defeat at the hands of Newcastle Falcons last time out as a much-changed side led by backs transition coach Scott Barrow secured a losing bonus point in the North East.
And with the club set to name a similarly youthful side against unbeaten Leicester this weekend – Wasps supporters will be given the chance to see the next generation of players in action for the first time at home.
Second-row Cardall hopes his displays in the cup will lead to more minutes on the pitch and hopes to correct the mistakes that saw Wasps surrender a seven-point half-time lead in Newcastle.
Cardall said: “I’ve been involved in a few games this year – I haven’t had as many minutes as I’d like to – being named in the 23 regularly is good.
“I just want to keep pressing and keep getting minutes under my belt – these Premiership Cup week’s gives a chance for players like myself to put my hand up and show coaches what we can offer and get some game time.
“Tigers are in very good form at the moment – we know exactly what they’re about – they’re very set-piece dominant, we’ve highlighted where we’re going to go after them.
“It’s mainly about focusing on ourselves – we’ve highlighted our mistakes from the weekend and we’re looking forward to putting things right against the Tigers this weekend.”
Wasps handed debuts to 10 players in the defeat at Kingston Park and Cardall praised the club’s academy coaches for bringing through so many young players.
Cardall added: “The mood has not been too bad – we were very disappointed to lose the way we did at the weekend but there were a lot of positives to take from the game as well.
“The first-half was a massive positive for us – a lot of boys making debuts and stepping up to play in a Wasps jersey for the first time as well.
“The boys were just very excited at the weekend – there was a lot of excitement around the camp as well – they were just eager to impress.
“It’s credit to the academy staff we have here – producing such good talent – they didn’t look out of place at all.
“We just didn’t take our chances in the second-half in their 22 – we had plenty of times to come away with points but unfortunately we didn’t do so.”
The 24-year-old was also full of praise for the competition and feels the cup provides youngsters with a chance to play senior rugby.
He said: “It’s nice to see these young boys being given a chance – playing in a Wasps jersey.
“I remember playing with the senior boys and thinking: ‘this is what I want’ and push myself at that level as well.
“I think it’s a very good competition especially as a stepping stone for young boys to put on a Wasps jersey and play some senior rugby.
“It shouldn’t be overlooked – it’s a good competition to breed these young players coming through.”
Wasps host Leicester on Saturday, November 20 with kick-off at 1:30pm at the CBS Arena.
