Raphael Ibanez believes timidness might have contributed to European champions Wasps losing their unbeaten record in this season’s Heineken Cup.
Wasps face a rapid return against Pool Five rivals Clermont Auvergne at Adams Park on Saturday, just seven days after they were stung 37-27 in France.
Another Clermont victory would leave the Londoners struggling to survive in this season’s so-called ‘pool of death’, especially as one of their remaining two games in January is away against 2006 Heineken Cup winners Munster.
While a highly-debatable try from Clermont’s Argentina World Cup hooker Mario Ledesma sealed their win last weekend, Wasps are making no excuses.
France and Wasps hooker Ibanez said: "The biggest problem for me against Clermont was that we were a bit timid in the first half.
"We stepped back a lot from the traditional values of this Wasps team, notably in attack where our ball retention is normally very good, and maybe didn’t trust in our usual strengths as we should have done.
"Everything is balanced in terms of the pool standings, and we knew from the start this was going to be a very difficult group to come out of.
"We know what we need to do this weekend in order to keep the dream of a quarter-final alive, but so do Clermont. It will be a tough challenge."
