HENLEY Hawks are looking forward to re-establishing their ties with Wasps after the clubs formed a new partnership this week.

Their Dry Leas ground is now home to the Premiership giants’ Southern Academy.

A new gym has been built to cater for the players, which Henley will also use, while the National League 2 South outfit will host games for the development side in the Aviva A League.

The partnership marks a return to the close relationship between the clubs which was built when Wasps were based at Adams Park in Wycombe.

That link ended when they moved to the Ricoh Arena in Coventry in 2014, but commercial manager Alistair Benyon says Henley are excited to have them back.

He said: “It’s very good for us.

“With Wasps moving away from the area the relationship we had died a death a little bit because there was no need for it to continue, which was a shame from our point of view but understandable.

“The Thames Valley is a massive area which is untouched – there are a lot of clubs but no Premiership club looking to tap into a hotbed of rugby.

“Wasps will have their academy based here and have set up a brand new gym.

“They will be training here on Monday nights and have their A League fixtures at Dry Leas as well.

“They’re keen to stamp their footprint here – it’s exciting for us.”