Sopoaga V Sexton on the cards

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Wasps received some great news ahead of their Champions Cup opener against defending champions Leinster Rugby.

Wasps head to the RDS Arena on Friday to face the four-time European Cup winners and Lima Sopoaga will be available for the encounter.

The All Black joined the Premiership this year and has been in tremendous form during the Premiership.

He missed last weekend's match against Gloucester due to a neck spasm but head coach Dai Young revealed he will recover in time for the match against Leinster.

This means the Wasps pivot will go up against Leinster stalwart Johnny Sexton.

The Ireland flyhalf was a vital component during last season's Champions Cup campaign and he helped Leinster win the Pro14 title.

The reigning champions Leinster won all nine games on their way to lifting the Champions Cup trophy last season and one more victory would equal their longest winning streak in the competition which they set across the 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons.

"You’ve got to have a quality squad to be able to win the [Champions] Cup," Wasps coach Dai Young revealed via the clubs' official website.

"We won’t be favourites but we’re looking forward to it.

"We’re going to the home of the champions and we’re going there to try and win. But we have to play to our potential because if we don’t we won’t be near.

"You can’t limp over the line against Leinster,"

Last season, Wasps finished just a point shy of qualifying for the quarter-finals and failed to progress from their pool – which still haunts the head coach.

"We’ve got to try and come out of every European game with something because if you have two bad results, you’re going to struggle to get through the pool stages,"

Meanwhile, in terms of team news Willie Le Roux (concussion), Brad Shields (cheekbone) and Joe Launchbury (knee) are all expected to be fully fit for Friday's match.

Source: wasps.co.uk