Wasps director of rugby Giselle Mather and captain Kate Alder believe the club can win the Premier 15s this season.

Today sees the announcement of the start of the new season this weekend and Mather said she has her eyes on the trophy.

She said: "I think I would like us to be able to release the potential in my squad. For me, personally, I have huge potential but just because you have a lot of good individuals does not mean you've got a good team. So my ambition in that sense is that I am able to get the best out of this group both collectively and individually and we play a really exciting game that people like to watch.

"I know they aren't allowed to come and watch it on pitch-side right now but they will be able to see it in other ways, in broadcast and what have you. 

“And do I want to win it? Of course I do but I'd tell you that every year. Do I believe we can do it? Yes I do.”

And Alder added she and the team are focusing on themselves rather than comparing their preparation for the league with other clubs.

She said: "From a captain and a player perspective I want us to be competing and playing at the top level. Certain names keep [getting] batted around year in and year out, the rumour mill does everything it wants to do. This year we have had a particularly long off season so there's been lots of chatter about what they expect training throughout Covid [to be like] and things and I just want us as a group and as a player to achieve what we really can. 

"Every year I say look we will be in that final and for me this year is not focusing on external, it's not focusing on what players have done or how others teams have coached throughout Covid because everyone is going to look at it differently. It's looking more internally. 

“If we do what we want to do and play the way we know we can then we will see our own success and our fate at the end of the season. I think it's about being a little bit more, not under the radar,  but going about our business and working on ourselves week on week, building game on game and seeing where that takes us at the end of it.”

Wasps’ first match of the 2020/21 season will be away against Bristol Bears on Saturday.