London Wasps heading back to their roots

Wasps currently play in Wycombe on the outskirts of London (©GettyImages).

London Wasps have been associated as another London club for the last few centuries, but now they have released their London tag will the buzz leave the team or will this be a step forward for Wasps?

Having changed their name in 1999 from Wasps to London Wasps it was a good move to make moving forward with the club's reputation considering they started playing at Loftus Road, the home of Queens Park Rangers.

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But since then they have moved to Wycombe Wanderers' stadium, Adams' Park, and it has been their home for the last seven seasons, so the move to get rid of the London name isn't a drastic change.

However, was there a need to remove the London tag? Sure they weren't based in London, more on the outskirts of North West London, but the English capital has been associated with a number of rugby teams such as London Irish and Welsh, along with London Scottish.

But maybe they remain to be like Saracens or Harlequins, playing their games in London, based around Wembley and Watford, but not putting the English capital in their title.

Even when discussing this matter chief executive Nick Eastwood declared to ESPN.com that Wasps could stand alone without the London title in their name.

"Wasps is a well-established and well-respected brand which is strong enough to stand alone. Nick Eastwood said.

"For almost 150 years we have been known throughout the rugby world as Wasps; even since the re-branding of the club to London Wasps in 1999 people have still referred to us as Wasps, so we feel we are in keeping with the history of the club."

History

Since Wasps changed their name to London Wasps and changed the badge, they've seen huge success within the club, as in the last century Dai Young's men have gone on to lift four Aviva Premiership titles as well as two Heineken Cups.

It's not only the silverware that Wasps had been blessed with, some great players have also put on the Waspies jersey, such players Josh Lewsey, Matt Dawson and England star Lawrence Dallaglio.

But in the last few seasons the North West London team haven't been on top form, as recently Young's men beat Stade Francias in a play-off game to secure a European Champions Cup place, but two seasons ago they just avoided relegation into the RFU Championship.

Wasps will always be associated with London, and for the future to come they'll have the London image whether it may be playing in the double header at Twickenham on the opening day of the season, or featuring at Wembley Stadium, which fans have become accustom to in the Aviva Premiership.

Nothing will change within the club, only the name, and recently we have teams around the country head back to their roots as the past is becoming a new trend and the buzz may still remain at Adams' Park.