Haskell set to step out of Dallaglio's No8 shadow

Yesterday the Wasps No8 did a pretty good impression of his former mentor by ruthlessly consigning him to the history books before confidently predicting a bright future for his club.

Dallaglio's retirement, as well as the selection of no fewer than 10 Wasps players in England's 32-man Elite Player Squad, means the Guinness Premiership champions' playing resources will again be stretched to their limits this season.

Last year saw them briefly occupy bottom spot in the table following a disastrous opening to their campaign with their international stars away on World Cup duty.

But Haskell believes Ian McGeechan can cope with anything that is thrown at them in the upcoming campaign, and insists they can overcome Dallaglio's absence. Speaking at O2's Scrum in the Square, Haskell said: "I don't want to be disrespectful to Lawrence but as soon as last season finished we moved on straight away. We had to do that.

"Maybe in the middle of the season people might come back to me and 'say look at the results, there might be something different', but the way we have prepared and the attitude we have is really positive.

"I genuinely believe we have the squad to do well again this season.

"We know who the leaders are. Lawrence has a certain 'je ne sais que' about him and although we may not have someone like him around there is still that competitive edge."

Still only 23-years-old, Haskell is already being touted as a possible future captain of Wasps and England, just like Dallaglio. While he is happy with the comparison to be made, Haskell intends to let his rugby do the talking over the coming months.

"To be compared to Lawrence, who has won everything there is to win and been a great club servant, is very flattering," he said. "If I can emulate some of his successes I will be a very happy man when I retire."