THERE’S no getting away from the fact that Daniel Cipriani, English rugby’s boy wonder, had a tough time of it in Clermont Ferrand yesterday. He had one of those days when it was difficult for a fly-half to flourish, on the first count because the Wasp pack was dominated, and on the second because Eoin Reddan did not have the sharpest of games inside him at scrum-half.

However, it is when you are playing behind a pack which is on the back foot that world-class No 10s show their survival instincts and thrive on the challenge.

What we saw with Cipriani is that he still has a way to go, because his option-taking and running lines were often flawed.

There is nothing more infuriating than seeing a turnover ball kicked away willy-nilly by half-backs.

Cipriani made this mistake in the first half, stabbing through a long grubber kick into touch, giving Clermont easy lineout possession, when he should have kept the ball in hand.

Nor was his kicking under pressure up to the mark, and although he kicked an important penalty late on, he missed with a couple around the 22 which Wasps desperately needed.

These errors in execution and skills cost Wasps, but he is still a huge talent – and he was no more at fault than anyone else in a Wasps back-line which was well below par.

Reddan did not help Cipriani because he took too many steps with the ball, crabbing across, and cramping Cipriani’s space before passing.

The Wasps midfield was also too easily read with Riki Flutey and Fraser Waters not having their usual impact against the Clermont back-line. With the return game against Clermont at Adams Park on Saturday, Cipriani needs to use Flutey as a foil and keep the defence on its toes by running straight, rather than diagonally.

The next step for Cipriani is making breaks and showing us the pace that Margot Wells has nurtured. There is nothing scarier than having a fly-half who can run like a Jonathan Davies, who was electrifying.

With Aurelien Rougerie’s late try, Wasps have got to get a five-pointer against Clermont in the return. The home records of the French clubs speak for themselves, but Wasps need to bring a similarly fierce intensity to the return leg, because only the outright winner will go through from this group.

Putting James Haskell at openside flanker was definitely a worthwhile experiment, because a man of his size is so important at the tackle area. He is very hard to shift when he is over the top of the ball, in the same way as South Africa’s Schalk Burger, and he proved it in this game.

At their best, Wasps are a difficult side to contain and are expert at singling out a defender and picking one shoulder, only for the support runner to hit up on the opposite side and take the pass out of the tackle. This way they generate real momentum and pace on the ball, and almost seem to know that someone will be there in close support. That someone is Haskell, more often than not.

The only area in which Haskell needs to improve is to put Brock James, who was outstanding for Clermont at fly-half, under the cosh. James made the most of Clermont’s forward advantage with his precision kicking and caused Wasps’ backs no end of bother.

The Wasps backs also fail to take any of the load off their forwards, and they will need to punch their weight on Saturday much more than they did here. They lost the midfield collisions conclusively, and they will need to address that because I do not believe that Clermont will be the poor travellers they were when they went to Munster.

With all the money they have spent, and with a hard-nosed Kiwi coach in Vern Cotter, Wasps can expect them to come armed and ready, and with plenty of confidence.

Why? Because rugby is a game of confrontation, and while they did not score a knockout, this was a clear points victory for Clermont.

They will believe they can do a number on Wasps, and the home side will need everyone, not just Cipriani and Haskell, to step up, or their reign as European champions could come off the rails.