The protests at Wasps were somewhat understated © PA Photos

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It has been a turbulent week at Wasps to say the least but they came out of it with an impressive win. Monday Maul assesses their prospects, the performance of their captain, outspoken coaches and the dismal state of Australian rugby.

Moving on up

Ignoring the usual social media rants, in the end Wasps' move to Coventry seems to have been accepted with resignation by most supporters. The financial necessity, which was well presented by the club, was clear even if the location was more debatable. Had Wasps had a bigger supporter base - 3000 season ticket-holders and an average crowd of around 5000 - then the club might have found opposition was more substantial.

Nick Eastwood, the CEO, said he expected 80% of fans to make the journey up the M40, but that seems a very optimistic prediction. It is hard not to think they have calculated that even if most supporters decide not to follow them, there is a limited downside and they will gradually be replaced by new fans from the Midlands. Either way, there will need to be a lot more of them. Yesterday's attendance for the Bath game was 7,397, the best this season. That would have left 25,212 empty seats at the Ricoh Arena.

In praise of Dai Young

He may not have brought the glory days back to Wasps quite yet, but praise must be levelled at the feet of their coach Young. In his first season he steered their ship through the dangers of receivership and relegation and two campaigns on and they have seen off the much-fancied Bath and are preparing for their trip to Leinster on Sunday in the rebranded Champions Cup.

Throughout the recent turbulence Young has kept his counsel and his calm persona has rubbed off on to his players who were wonderful for much of the game against Bath. Whatever has occurred at Twyford Avenue, Adams Park or will no doubt materialise in Coventry, Young has been the personification of calm and professionalism and deserves huge credit.

The in-form back-row

Without meaning this to be too Wasps-centric, James Haskell is in wonderful form. He played well against Bath on Sunday, making 16 tackles, and is working well in tandem with Ashley Johnson and Nathan Hughes in the back-row. He has to be in with a shout of featuring in England's matchday squad for their game on November 8 against the All Blacks.

Congrats @jameshaskell huge week 4 @WaspsRugby captain leads the way with MOM. Fair play bud.

— Andy Gomarsall (@AndyGomarsall) October 12, 2014

No holding back

James Haskell has had a wonderful season © Getty Images

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Endless training in how to deal with the media has meant coaches and players often hide their true feelings in interviews, resorting to well-rehearsed soundbites and guarded reactions. Which made Laurent Lapit's broadside aimed at South Africa referee Jacob Van Heerden all the more refreshing. Speaking after Van Heerden had awarded a try which few, including the try-scorer, thought valid, the Racing Metro coach let rip. "Everyone heard the video referee refuse the try except [the referee] decided to take the initiative to give it nonetheless," he said. "That has ended on a parody, a stick-up. We've been robbed. Everybody saw the guy in the middle, nicely dressed, with shoes that matched his shirt, refereeing all afternoon with a smile. He spent the week in Paris. He must have visited a lot of things and had a nice walk around … and he did so this afternoon too."

In the Aviva Premiership, Richard Cockerill deserves to be appreciated. He is always forthright, honest and wears his heart on his sleeve and no more so than after their win over Harlequins on Friday.

"When people say we have lost the hunger and there's no pride in the shirt, that's just rubbish," Cockerill said. "People who know this place should have a bit of respect. They can shout at me and think I'm poor but don't attack the quality of this club and what it's about.

"We have won the Premiership three times in the last six years, we have won it 10 times. We have won the Heineken twice and produced Lions and England players. There are lots of things that are fantastic about this place. You can abuse me but don't abuse the club, that's just not right."

What iceberg?

The weekend's awards

• Player: James Haskell
• Team: Ospreys
• Coach: Dai Young
• Quote: " Everybody saw the guy in the middle, nicely dressed, with shoes that matched his shirt, refereeing all afternoon with a smile."
• Sidestep: Semesa Rokoduguni's against Wasps with Ken Pisi's a close second

Had Bill Pulver, the Aussie board's chief executive, been captain of the Titanic you suspect he would have claimed the listing ship and exploding boiler rooms were no more than a little local difficulty. For all his attempts to portray Australian rugby as a vibrant product (to use the language of the ever-present marketing men) the edifice seems to collapsing around him. In the last fortnight alone we have read that Australian rugby is on the verge of going broke, audiences are down, and hoped-for TV deals might be less lucrative than planned. On top of that the team lost in Argentina, and to cap it all a leading player has been suspended and the ARU's business manager resigned over behaviour that would have the HR department of any major business in damage-limitation overdrive.

The dangers of choking

In the 2011 World Cup, praise was rightly levelled at Ireland for their use of the choke-tackle which Australia found so hard to navigate. It is now used by teams Europe over as they attempt to regain possession through that specific type of tackle. For Glasgow boss Gregor Townsend, he feels it needs to be reviewed after his centre Mark Bennett was left unconscious after being caught around the neck in such a grapple.

"If it is a [neck] choke then that is obviously something that is not legal," Townsend said. "The tackle has to be under the shoulders. If you are trying to hold players up from under the shoulders then that is legal; if you're above the shoulders it is not. There are people who look at these incidents to find out what can be seen on video. We have to make sure that the laws are applied and that tackles are below the shoulders."