There is a momentary pause as Lee Blackett attempts to sum up the swirling emotions he continues to experience. One minute he was head coach of one of England’s finest clubs, the next he was suddenly dealing with redundancy following Wasps’ abrupt financial collapse in October. “You feel like you’re mourning someone,” he says, eventually. “No one died and you have to remember that. But it did feel like that.”
Despite having had nothing to do with the business side of the club, he also found it hard not to blame himself for the plight of his fellow staff and players after the club was formally placed into administration with debts totalling £95 million. “I was the head coach. There’s nothing I could have done about it but, for some reason, I felt guilty. It was an amazing club we had and it was no longer. I don’t know why I felt guilty, I just did.”
Perhaps the most poignant moment of all took place at Cardiff Airport last weekend. Blackett, who is now working as an attack coach at the Scarlets, was returning with his new team from Italy when they encountered Pau’s squad heading home after their Challenge Cup fixture against the Dragons. Stepping off the Pau bus was none other than Dan Robson, the former Wasps scrum-half who has had to relocate to France to restart his career. “I went to shake hands with him and he just opened up for a hug. I think it just said a lot about where we were. It was nice.”
With Christmas almost here it is impossible not to feel ongoing sympathy for all involved. Blackett is – or was – one of the new breed of Premiership head coaches: talented, empathic, positive-minded and committed to helping numerous young players achieve their rugby dreams. Just over a year ago he gave a couple of us a private tour of Wasps’ newly completed training complex in Henley-in-Arden, his enthusiasm and excitement matching the uplifting surroundings. From a performance standpoint, Wasps’ outlook looked encouragingly bright.
And now? Let’s just say Blackett has much to contemplate on his regular 360-mile round trip commute between Llanelli and his east Midlands home. This very weekend, for example, Wasps had been scheduled to face Worcester, also high-profile casualties of English rugby’s winter of financial discontent. Instead his former players are now trying to pick up the pieces elsewhere: the Willis brothers, Paolo Odogwu and Robson in France; Joe Launchbury in Japan, Alfie Barbeary at Bath, Charlie Atkinson at Leicester.
Initially Blackett could hardly bear to see his former charges wearing other jerseys – “I couldn’t bring myself to watch some Premiership games” – but he feels more at peace now, almost like a proud parent watching his offspring flourish out in the wider world. “At first it was hard to see the boys go elsewhere but then you see Charlie winning man of the match, Tom Willis performing outstandingly for Bordeaux … you’re proud of what they’re doing.
He will be forever grateful, too, to Dwayne Peel and the Scarlets for scooping him up in his hour of professional need. His wife Sharlotte and young daughter Violet also remain a cherished source of love and joy. Even so, surely there must have been times when he has been tempted to howl into the motorway darkness at the unfairness of it all? There is another brief silence before Blackett explains why, for him, bitterness is not the answer. “Sometimes I pinch myself at what’s happened. But I’ve never felt angry. I don’t waste time on things in life that I can’t control. For me there’s no point getting angry or wasting energy. I have to deal with what’s happening next. I don’t know if that’s just a coach’s or a player’s mentality. You can learn from what’s gone but I’ve got to focus on the next job.”
There speaks a man who has been down a similar rocky road before, in his case when Rotherham Titans went bust in 2004. Blackett also cites the former Wasps chief executive, Stephen Vaughan (now with Yorkshire CCC), and new owner Christopher Holland as good people still worthy of respect. If he has a lingering grievance it is with those across English rugby who were less than supportive during Wasps’ darkest days. “I get frustrated when I see certain agendas out there. That’s the only thing I would question at times. I’m not directing that at anyone particularly but we should always remember what’s best for the game and the people within it.
“I fully understand why people are saying there needs to be some kind of punishment [when teams enter administration] but it has happened to others within the game. Unfortunately Covid caught up with a lot of people. It was exactly the same at Worcester. It has hurt two big clubs massively. ”
Sadly there were amber warning signs flashing well before the fateful Monday – “people were in shock” – when everything came crashing down at Wasps. “There had been murmurings for a long time,” confirms Blackett. “We weren’t shouting it from the rooftops but we’d not done any recruitment for a long time. In my whole time at Wasps, we hadn’t spent the salary cap and weren’t ever going to. At some point we were hopeful we were going to spend it but we never got close to it.”
So what might 2023 hold? It can only be hoped the personable, deserving Blackett, who only turned 40 last month, earns another top job at some stage. Wasps have been given permission to start afresh in the Championship next season and are currently talking about relocating to Damson Park, home of Solihull Moors FC. The Scarlets, with any luck, will also benefit from an attack coach with a point to prove. “I wanted to come down to Wales and get the respect of people who might not know me that well. I’ve loved every second of it. I just want to do as good a job as I possibly can for the Scarlets and we’ll see how that works out.”
If Blackett has one last seasonal message for the English game, though, it is a cautionary one. “The game as a spectacle is getting better. But at this moment in time rugby’s a hobby for a rich man or woman because a lot of these clubs aren’t making any money.” Spare a thought this Christmas for those whose lives changed utterly in 2022.
