On October 7th last year, Wasps RFC were confirmed as the main shareholders of the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, and the following week they had announced that they would play their first game at the new stadium on December 21st 2014. By November, Wasps completed the purchase of the complex to become its outright owners, completely reshaping the club’s geography in the process. Having played their home games at Adams Park in High Wycombe since 2002, Wasps have long-showed intentions to move to a larger, more permanent stadium, and the move away from the capital was foreshadowed last summer when the club dropped the ‘London’ tag from their name.

Moving your home stadium 80 miles up the M40 may seem dangerous; the news was greeted with mixed reviews and understandable upset was voiced by the club’s London fan-base. But on paper it seems to make sense: Wasps were only part shareholders of Adams Park alongside Wycombe Wanderers Football Club. They were also competing against Harlequins, Saracens and London Irish, all well-established Premiership clubs with grounds nearby. In moving to the Ricoh, Wasps can tap into a pocket of the West Midlands and Birmingham which no top-tier rugby team has yet to exploit, as well as upgrading to a capacity of 32,609 seats (compared with Adam’s Park’s 10,284). The Ricoh Arena is at the centre of a large complex, including a leisure centre, a hotel and a casino with ample parking also available, while their High Wycombe home was buried at the back of an industrial estate.

Add to this the fact that Wasps were hours away from bankruptcy in 2011 and were only saved by the backing of businessmen Derek Richardson and David Thorne. The move to the Ricoh offers Wasps a financial platform that part-ownership of Adams Park simply couldn’t provide.

The on-field situation also seems much brighter for the club. Four years ago, Wasps found themselves hampered with financial insecurity while also sitting on the cusp of relegation. They have since secured a plethora of high-profile players, the most notable including the re-signing of current club captain James Haskell, Welsh international Bradley Davies and the sizeable frame of Fijian Number 8 Nathan Hughes, who has already bagged six Premiership tries this season. Experienced fly-half Andy Goode is proving a reliable presence with the boot, while the likes of Christian Wade, Tom Varndell and Elliot Daly – established members of Wasps’ back line – offer an exciting blend of pace and flair to the proceedings.

Their first performance at the Ricoh also gave reasons for cheer: with a slender two-point lead at half time, Wasps scored four second half tries to defeat London Irish 48-16. What’s more, Wasps secured a record for the highest attendance in a Premiership fixture at a club’s regular home ground (others having been set at Twickenham and Wembley). A similar margin of victory was recorded against Sale Sharks, who succumbed to a 41-16 defeat with scrum-half Joe Simpson bagging two tries and lifting Wasps into play-off contention.

However controversial the decision to up-sticks to Coventry may have seemed at first, it is now clear the move has sparked new life into the club, and the players are certainly helping the cause having strung together a fine set of recent results. So the future looks bright for Wasps. With one of the richest and most successful pedigrees of all English rugby clubs, the men in black and gold could find history repeating itself in the coming seasons.