4. Wasps
Now, has the dust settled for long enough for Wasps to be added to a list of ‘forgotten’ teams? As we gear up for our first ever Premiership and European season to not feature Wasps, the 2023/24 campaign will lack a certain buzz, following the financial collapse of the notable absentees. Wasps’ heroics in the early days of the early 2000s Premiership and Champions Cup are well documented, however the black and yellow’s also claimed Challenge Cup glory back in 2003.
Then known as London Wasps, a sub-par 2001/02 Premiership season saw the side finished seventh and earn a spot in the Challenge Cup. These were bizarre circumstances, given Wasps would go on to win three back-to-back Premiership titles in the coming years. Yet Wasps had to start somewhere, as they marked this new era of success with the 2002/03 European Challenge Cup and Premiership double.
Outclassing the opposition for much of the tournament, Wasps recorded a 82-24 aggregate win over Parma, before a similarly emphatic 72-29 double-legged triumph against Bordeaux-Begles. Wasps continued to walk the tournament, despatching Stade Francais and Pontypridd, before a showdown with age-old Premiership rivals Bath. The final saw Wasps topple their old enemy, in a 48-30 belter.