Ian McGeechan was shrugging his shoulders yesterday, though it would be wrong to say he wore an air of resignation. The London Wasps director of rugby, who seems certain to be confirmed on May 14 as head coach to the Lions when they tour South Africa next year, remains strongly opposed to the more controversial law changes to be introduced next season by the IRB, but he also knows that he has to make the best of it.

But before the introduction “on trial” of 13 experimental law variations on August 1, McGeechan will spend the rest of this season demonstrating how well the existing laws work. He will do so with a Wasps side who have charged up the Guinness Premiership since Christmas, winning eight successive games, and at Adams Park tomorrow attempts to take the scalp of Gloucester, who have spent virtually the entire season leading the table.

If history has anything to do with it, Wasps will win at home. Not since 1990 have Gloucester won on Wasps territory. It is so long ago that Dean Ryan, now Gloucester's head coach, was playing in the Wasps back row that day when a late try, by Richard Mogg, clinched a third-round Pilkington Cup win for the visiting club.

In the next six days, Wasps also play the postponed away game with Newcastle Falcons, on Wednesday, and remain in the North for next Saturday's encounter with relegated Leeds Carnegie. But if they find their way past Gloucester, you would not bet against Wasps taking all ten points on offer in their last two games and finishing the regular season, if not in top spot, then with a home draw in the play-offs.

“We'll concentrate on Gloucester first then appraise where we are,” McGeechan said, happier now that Pat Barnard is making his way back to fitness after damaging his left knee against Saracens. Already without two tight-head props in Phil Vickery and Nick Adams, he has added on loan Sam Heard from Cornish Pirates.

Wasps have also had a reminder of the new England regime, now headed by Martin Johnson. In training on Wednesday they were watched by John Wells and Mike Ford, Johnson's senior coaches, who are assessing form before the selection of the squad to tour New Zealand next month and spent more than an hour in close discussion with McGeechan. The players are all too aware of the need to display their wares.

“Graham Rowntree [England's scrummaging coach] gave me some good advice at the World Cup,” Tom Rees said. “When things weren't exactly going my way, he told me not to worry about what I can't control, stick to the things I know I can do, the rest is wasted energy.”

Now that the ligaments of his left knee, damaged playing against Wales in February, have mended, Rees is back near his best in the Wasps back row and his all-action style is typical of the threat with which Gloucester must deal.

They have already dealt with one anomaly from this season, the mixed form of Scotland's Chris Paterson. The utility back will be returning to Edinburgh after only one season and 17 appearances in the Premiership “by mutual consent”, though it is clear that neither club nor player found the move entirely to their satisfaction.

Jim Hamilton, the Leicester and Scotland lock, will also join Edinburgh on a three-year contract. His present club hope to improve their standing tomorrow by beating a Newcastle side with a makeshift centre pairing of Tim Visser and Tom Dillon as the battle not only for play-off places but also European qualification goes on apace.

Six clubs have a realistic chance to fill the four play-off places, the same six clubs who will play in next season's Heineken Cup unless Worcester Warriors throw a spanner in the works by beating Bath in the European Challenge Cup final. They will give that grand old warrior, Tony Windo, an outing in the front row against Bristol today after the prop's decision, at 39, to retire at the season's end.

Northampton, who return to the Premiership next season, will do so without Victor Matfield, the World Cup winner who is rejoining the Bulls in Pretoria, but David Lyons, Australia's No8, has agreed a four-year deal with Llanelli Scarlets. His arrival in Llanelli means that Alix Popham, the Scarlets' Wales back-row forward, has been released to join the French club, Brive, a move that has been cited as the reason for his withdrawal from the Wales squad for the summer tour to South Africa next month.