WASPS could end the weekend in second place in the Aviva Premiership.

It would take a turn of results nearly as unlikely as a lottery win, but if they beat Exeter well and Bath and Saracens both lose then Dai Young’s team will be as well-placed as they’ve been since the days of Sir Ian McGeechan and Shawn Edwards.

Wasps though, would be happy just fulfiling their side of the equation.

Director of rugby Dai Young said: “It’s fifth against second and Exeter are deservedly second. They’ve had a really good start to the season.

“We haven’t won down there since I’ve been here, and we’ve only won once on the road since last December, so this is a big game for us.

“We need to get the monkey off our back and get a really good win away from home. We’ve got Exeter and then Leicester, a group of two games where we could put a marker down and cement ourselves in the top six.”

Exeter have bounced back from last season’s comedown when they weren’t able to balance European and domestic issues. Wasps have that puzzle to solve this year, and Young admits it takes some getting used to.

He said: “Playing in Europe certainly caught up with us when we played Quins at home. We looked a very tired and flat, physically and mentally.

“It’s very tough to go to the well every week when you’ve got big game after big game. Exeter and Sale have struggled with it, and historically it takes even the best teams three or four years to adapt.

“Saracens took four or five years to establish themselves in Europe and it’s something you have to come to terms with.

“But we’re not going to use that as an excuse. The squad hasn’t been overplayed and the boys are pretty well rested. We’re in a pretty good place. We had a really good win last week and confidence is high.

“We brought them down to earth a little bit with a few facts, and the boys realise we’ve still got a lot of questions to answer.”