Wing duo Sailosi Tagicakibau and Tom Varndell believe Wasps have the perfect chance to get their European campaign back on track as they prepare for a double-header against Castres Olympique.

After suffering defeats against Leinster and Harlequins in their opening two matches in Pool Two, Dai Young’s team head to southern France this Sunday in dire need of a win.

The French side have also lost their first two fixtures in the competition and lie bottom of the Top 14 table, but Tagicakibau says Wasps can take nothing for granted against unfamiliar opponents.

“We don’t know too much about what we’ll be up against this weekend,” he explained. “They aren’t doing as well as they would expect domestically and they could throw anything at us.

“We need to focus on ourselves and concentrate on continuing the improvement we have seen in the last two games. The boys are working really hard and this weekend is a great opportunity for us to get a good win and kick on.”

Sunday’s fixture will be followed seven days later by Wasps’ farewell to Adams Park when the two sides meet again.

And with Leinster and Harlequins meeting in the pool’s other fixture, Varndell says the black and golds could force their way back into contention for qualification from a tough group.

“We’ve had some unlucky results in the competition so far, but it’s still all to play for and it’s wide open as to who’s going to go through. We know we need to win the rest of our games and we know we’ve got the ability to do that.”

Samoan Tagicakibau, who joined the club from London Irish in the summer, believes the squad is strong enough to bounce back from consecutive defeats in the Aviva Premiership when they do battle at the Stade Antoine Pierre.

“Nobody likes to lose. We haven’t had the best record away from home. We know that, but we can change all of that by going to a hostile environment like Castres and getting a result.”

A last gasp defeat to Leicester Tigers at Welford Road last Saturday was their fifth of the season, but that has done nothing to diminish Varndell’s belief that this group of players are a match for anyone.

“We know how we can play, and we know that if we play to our potential then we can beat anyone. If you look at the Premiership we’ve beaten Northampton, we’ve beaten Bath and if we play that way again then there’s not a team that can stop us from doing what we want to do.”