It was heralded as a ground-breaking move to play such a game in this faraway land called Abu Dhabi.
It was heralded as Wasps' home game “away from home”.
It was heralded as Wasps' opportunity to avenge the recent 17-10 defeat by Quins, played in much contrasting conditions in London.
The press can build up an occasion in any way they wish. And this was no exception, as one of the key sponsors for the event was The National Newspaper, the local Abu Dhabi English speaking newspaper. In the short time available to organize the event, they had done a sterling job promoting the game to the Abu Dhabi expat community. A female colleague of mine expressed her excitement having purchased tickets for the game by saying “This is my first international rugby match I will have ever attended!!” such was her interpretation of the pre–match publicity.

As you are aware, from a Wasps perspective, the game did not live up to expectations. Whether the players were too far away from home, for real home ground advantage or whether the players just had not embraced the importance of the fixture within the grandeur of the venue they found themselves in or whether, man for man, they were seriously thrashed by a better team. That is all open for debate.

But there were other, possibly more enduring, issues to consider in amongst the seriousness of defeat. Three of us who had all performed admirable playing duties for the Wasps first team 30 years ago met up again for the first time after all those years. Mark Rigby, chairman of the board of Wasps, Ian Bell, consultant to the Harlequins and myself, a current resident of Abu Dhabi, took the chance to compare the old with the new.

How things had changed………..The warm, beautifully manicured grounds of the fabulous 5 star Emirates Palace Hotel were certainly not Sudbury on a bleak winter’s day. The superb accommodation supplied by the hotel was certainly not the team bus seat used to sleep on as the bus returned from an away game every other week. The quality of the food served was certainly not the Len Brasier prepared roll, apple, orange juice and hard boiled egg packed in a picnic basket. (Exactly the same every week). There was no sing-along after the match with a mixture of Wasp players, alickadoos and opposition all taking part. There was no sign of the disco late into the evening, with anyone not on the bus at midnight having to make their own way home.
Something was not quite the same. Something was quite bizarre. Something was quite surreal. Was this just another away trip?
That long-serving Wasp and ex match secretary, Neville Compton, would probably have turned over in his grave, had he heard that such a match was to be played at such a venue.

Time had moved on we thought. But the times of old had been good, they must have been: we were still talking about them -30 years on.

Micky Leggett

For those who don't know Micky:

"I came to Wasps from NZ where I had played representitive rugby for Auckland. I played two seasons first team rugby in South Africa on my way over to the UK to further my rugby education. Having been raised in New Zealand where the lilly white pom was seen as one of the inferior exponents of the game, my plan was to extend my rugby learning in France once I had played six months in London. The six months extended into seven seasons from 1976-1982. My games for the Wasp first team were around 150 and I also played and captained the Surrey County side during that time. And I was introduced to 7s rugby where the Middlesex sevens was the top sevens tournament in the world. I was fortunate to be a regular member of the Wasp 7s teams participating in that tournament over the years.So was Rob (Hector) Smith.My intitial attitude to the rugby way of life in England changed 180 degrees. They were the most enjoyable rugby years of my life.

"The rugby scene was starting to change for Wasps during these times with the introduction of calibre players into the side. Players such as Tony(Anthony Arthur) Richards, Mark (Grubby) Taylor, Kit (Foreskin) Fawcett, Roger (Muttley) Uttley, Nigel (Melly) Melville, to name but a few were all players targetted and recruited who helped the standards of the Wasp team to improve in the years to come.

"But I suppose the person who stands out for me, toiling in the background, but quietly assisting the well-being of the club is Ivor Montlake. There he was in the 1970's and there he was still part of the new Wasp direction in Abu Dhabi.He deserves the Victoria Cross."