Q&A with Wasps forwards coach Andy Titterrell

Two years ago, you turned to strength and conditioning but now you’re a full-time forwards coach. Why the change of direction?
It’s strange how things take a different turn. When I joined Wasps in 2014 it was as part of the S&C staff with some involvement with the hookers in terms of their throwing, but my involvement in coaching grew from there and I said to (rugby director) Dai Young that if I was holding our hookers accountable for what they were doing, I really needed to see what the other forwards were doing at lineouts with their lifting and jumping. I spent more and more time on the technical side of things and it came to a point where the S&C role drifted away, so to have my role formalised as full-time this summer was brilliant and I’m involved in the contact area as well now.
You’re sharing the forwards duties with ex-Northampton hooker Dan Richmond?
Yes. Dan and I will have split responsibilities, with Dan more in charge of the scrum. Dai will oversee us and it’s a joint partnership to get the best out of the players. It will allow us to have an extra pair of eyes at scrum, lineout and in the contact area.
Happy the Wasps’ pack is heading in the right direction?
Certainly am. Dai and our owner, Derek Richardson, have put a great squad together and when you’re working with the calibre of forwards we have, they’ve increased their work capacity from the first year I was involved. Having all our games at the Ricoh Arena helped last season and we had a purple patch after Christmas when we won 12 of our 13 games. The boys are certainly putting the effort in again now and if they produce what we know they can again, we’ll be a match for anyone and it’ll give our electric backs the chance to impress.
Joining the club from Sale is hooker Tommy Taylor, who worked under you on the England Saxons tour this summer. Big expectations?
I’ve been really impressed by Tommy and in his last season at Sale he showed a lot of durability as a modern day hooker. He played the majority of games and his athletic attributes will add hugely to our squad. He’s an abrasive ball-carrier who’s good in the set-piece and he brings lots of energy and enthusiasm. Having worked with him on the Saxons tour it gave me a glimpse of what I can expect on a weekly basis and he’s going to add a lot of leadership to our team. Tommy’s a doer and you don’t have to explain things too much, he gets it pretty quickly and has a good rugby brain. It’s up to us as coaches to put the finishing touches on things and help him become the best player he can be.
Can you see Taylor pushing Jamie George and Luke Cowan-Dickie for the England No.2 spot behind Dylan Hartley?
He needs a good season with us now and to perform beyond where he did last year, but I can’t see why Tommy can’t force himself into that 23-man England squad, he’s got all the attributes to be a quality international hooker. We’ll work hard to ensure he has a point of difference that sets him apart from the other hookers, but he certainly has a bright Test future.
Have England’s hooking stocks ever been better?
It’s hard to remember having this many quality hookers around and to have five or six of them battling for spots is exactly what the England coaches want. They want to see that competition and to see guys like Tommy Taylor and Tom Youngs fighting George, Cowan-Dickie and Hartley means nobody will to be able to take things easy – they’re going to have to play every game like it’s their last. You’ve got huge competition throughout the England squad now and, hopefully, that mindset will drift back into their clubs. As far as Tommy is concerned, he’s had a taste of the
international scene and I’m sure that’s given him the desire to succeed and add to that cap he won against Wales before the Saxons tour.
Your powerhouse No.8 Nathan Hughes is now qualified to play for England. What can we expect from him this season?
Nathan knows what he is as a ball player and a defender and what his roles are for Wasps. There are aspects of his game that we’re always improving and over the last couple of years, from a lineout perspective, he’s become a viable option as a receiver. He’s worked incredibly hard on his fitness and athleticism, so in terms of attacking and defensive lineouts he’s going to be very important for us. He’s a massive ball-carrier and that’s what first got him noticed, so for him to now be able to benchmark himself against Billy Vunipola is fantastic. When asked to carry it’s important he carries hard and with his work-rate around the field becoming better, he sees this season as a real opportunity to  impress on the international stage. He’s been a standout performer for us over the last couple of years and I’ll be surprised if England don’t look at him.
James Haskell‘s injury came at a bad time, have Wasps got enough back row cover?
I believe so. The squad Dai’s put together means we’ve got guys who are interchangeable. For example, James Gaskell is coming back from injury and can play in both the second and back rows, while Ashley Johnson can switch from hooker to the back row if necessary and be perfectly comfortable playing at six. Thomas Young played some remarkable games at six and seven last season, while Sam Jones, Guy Thompson and Alex Rieder are all good players who will compete hard for places. They’ll look to give Dai some serious selection headaches for when, as we expect, Haskell returns before Christmas.
Excited by the imminent return to Wasps of Danny Cipriani, below?
Who wouldn’t be? He performed really well down in South Africa on the Saxons tour and he’s really excited about coming back to Wasps. It was one of the first things he said to me when we gathered at the Lensbury and it’s brilliant for Danny to come back to the club he burst on to the scene with. He was fantastic to work with on that Saxons tour, taking everything in his stride and working really hard. He controlled both games really well and the excitement of him coming here is only going to spur Danny and the other players to perform better. He wants that starting fly-half place and there’s going to be great competition between him and Jimmy Gopperth. Danny’s experience in the way he can control a game, turn on the style and produce those X-factor moments can only be great news for us.
Keen to get Kurtley Beale on board as soon as possible after his injury?
Kurtley’s currently being looked after in Australia but is planning on getting here relatively quickly now so he can get into the environment and get to know our coaches, conditioners and physios. The sooner he comes the better because he can start integrating into the team and learn all our calls. When he’s eventually fit to play, he’ll be an absolute gem for the Premiership.
Wasps came so close last season in reaching two major semi-finals but losing both. Will those bitter memories fire-up your guys for silverware?
I think so. It gives players a hunger and desire to get back there again next year and go one step further. It’s about consistency and if you’re always in the top six and then that top four, you’re always in with a chance of being No.1. We know what we can do as a squad and with Lee Blackett working tirelessly on attack and a new defence coach in Phil Blake, we’ll be working hard to spur the guys on. Players should want to be playing in finals and with that comes recognition for international honours. You all play the game to be on the big stage and I’ve no doubt our guys will have all the incentive they need to get there.
How beneficial is it for Wasps to now have their entire operation based in Coventry?
Hugely. Logistically, having a training ground in London and playing games in Coventry was a bit difficult. But to be training full-time at Broadstreet now, three miles from the Ricoh, is ideal. Derek and Dai have put in fantastic facilities and everyone’s living pretty much within the radius of Coventry. It’s great for us and the club is putting a lot of hard work into everything here. Being in Coventry, we can really get an identity going between the club and the city. Our commercial team did a fabulous job of getting numbers into the stadium last season so for the players and coaches to now be able to get out into the community and meet people will be fantastic.
Reckon you’ll have closer ties with Coventry RFC?
It would be daft not to have those conversations and Matt Davies, our academy manager, does a great job in getting guys out to other clubs. We’ve got guys out at Bedford and that works well, so we’re always looking for opportunities to get lads good game time.
On a personal note, how honoured were you to coach on June’s Saxons tour of South Africa?
I was absolutely over the moon to do it. If someone had told me when I first started in coaching that I’d go on a Saxons tour two years in, I wouldn’t have believed them. I knew a lot of the management – guys like Richard Hill, Ali Hepher and Alan Dickens – beforehand and it was refreshing to be involved. I approached it the way I did when I went on tours as a player and saw it as an opportunity to showcase what I’d done in the season leading up to it. All the players were full of energy and wanted to play for the Saxons so I felt really comfortable expressing my views and coaching in front of those players and coaches. I hope I can continue on the development path and be a great England coach in the future.
Some of the senior players might have sulked after being omitted from the senior tour of Australia, so how pleased were you that they stepped up?
They did their very best to impress Eddie Jones, and rightly so. I think the players saw the Saxons tour as basically a job interview and every time you take the field, whether it’s for your club or the Saxons, you’re showcasing what you can do. Can you play a part in the team? What are your individual skills like under pressure? Do you understand the game? The whole buy-in from the players was fantastic, even from those guys who weren’t involved in games. Their attitude was brilliant and it gives Eddie and his coaches a much bigger pool of players to choose from for the senior squad. A lot of players on that Saxons tour put their hands up for England.
Who particularly impressed you on that tour?
I really liked Charlie Ewels and thought his leadership qualities for a young player were really good. And Dave Attwood, for someone with the experience he’s got, took to that South Africa trip like it was a senior England tour, both in terms of his leadership as captain and how he conducted himself. We’ve spoken about Tommy Taylor, and Alec Hepburn was another front rower who showed up really well. I know I’m one-eyed towards the forwards, but our back rowers like Dave Ewers, Don Armand, Matt Kvesic and Sam Jones were fantastic and it was pleasing to work with a quality pack of forwards who all bought into the same thing. There were no egos and everyone who went on that tour has the ability to play at Test level.
Back on Wasps, Matt Symons has joined from London Irish. Is he the new Bradley Davies?
You can’t take anything away from Brad, he’s got 50-odd caps for Wales so is a lot more experienced, but I just think Matt coming in brings a bit more athleticism around the set-piece and ball-carrying around the breakdown. Matt’s been with us for four weeks and already he’s been a brilliant addition. He’s a very good player who understands his role. After a tough year at London Irish, we hope to give him a real platform to boost his international aspirations. From what I’ve seen so far, he’ll do really well in our engine room.
Wasps failed to meet their English-qualified player target last season but that should change now following the arrivals of Cipriani, Symons, Taylor and now Kyle Eastmond?
Yes, we’ll have so many EQP guys in our squad this season and that’s exciting. We’ll have tremendous strength in depth and Kyle will add to our midfield options. As coaches, we want to develop all those guys to bring success to Wasps and also give them the best chance of being noticed by Eddie Jones. I can’t wait for the new season.