Elliot Daly shows class as Wasps earn bonus-point 51-10 win
Wasps have made their mark in Europe this season and their second thrashing of Leinster took them to the top of a group made up of former European Cup winners and a guaranteed place in the last eight. They will have to wait until Sunday to find out whether they will be home or away with Ospreys needing a bonus point victory at Exeter to thwart them, but nobody will fancy playing a side capable of playing so irresistibly.
Wasps are still evolving as a side and here their over-eagerness exposed them in the first half. They conceded two tries after making mistakes in possession, they took risks in their own territory and tried to force play too much as if thinking about the bonus point before securing victory. They needed the interval, when they led 15-10, to refocus and within 13 minutes of the restart scored the two tries they needed to guarantee their berth in the quarter-finals.
The bonus was finishing at the top of the group ahead of Toulon, reward for four overwhelming victories against Leinster, twice, Toulon and Bath and there are few more dangerous sides when a match starts to break up. It was Leinster’s heaviest defeat in the European Cup, a chastening experience for a side that dominated the tournament at the start of the decade, but after conceding the fourth try, they lost their focus and were made to pay when loose passes were turned into interception tries.
The try that effectively decided the game was not down to largesse but the calculation of the Wasps’ scrum-half, Dan Robson, who was called on five minutes in when Joe Simpson jarred his left ankle after landing on it awkwardly as he contested a high kick. Robson had only spent 66 minutes on the field in the previous five rounds and he was not going to blow a rare opportunity.
He set up his side’s first try after Leinster had taken the lead with
a Zane Kirchner effort that showcased their best qualities, quickly
turning defence into attack and passing with precision. Wasps had set up
10 rucks without making much ground when Robson, spotting a numerical
advantage to the left, switched direction without giving the defence
notice and Jimmy Gopperth took advantage of the overlap to dummy his way
past his former colleagues.
Robson was at the heart of Wasps’ second try, supplying Joe Launchbury with the scoring pass an instant before being tackled into touch after receiving the ball via the head of George Smith, but it was the third try that stood out. Wasps were 18-10 ahead thanks to Gopperth’s second penalty and had a scrum on the halfway line: Robson looped around Gopperth and timed his pass to Elliot Daly whose diagonal run took him through a gap; his pace over 50 metres was too much for the two covering defenders.
The Wasps’ director of rugby, David Young, said that Daly had trained for one day in the build-up to the match because of a tight hamstring and his try turned a tight game into a loose one. His kick, following a turnover, had created the position from which Wasps worked their first try and as he joins up with the England squad this week, his confidence will never have been higher, a contrast to his rival at outside-cents, Jonathan Joseph.
His England colleague Launchbury was also prominent on an afternoon that saw Nathan Hughes return from injury. Wasps gradually imposed their ascendancy and when they drove a maul from a line-out having turned down the opportunity to kick for goal, George Smith emerged with the ball near the corner only for the referee to award a penalty try to virtually guarantee an extra two points.
After that it was a procession. Daly’s long pass gave Frank Halai a free run to the line, Charles Piutau ran 60 metres to score after profiting from a Leinster handling error and the replacement hooker, Ashley Johnson, scored in the final minute to take his side into the 50s. It had looked anything but a romp 50 minutes before when Leinster scored their second try through Eoin Reddan after Lorenzo Cittadini had been banished to the sin-bin for a professional foul near his own line.
Wasps had been forced into defence by a sloppy pass from George Smith, of all players. They were caught then between desire and reality, the wish to express themselves trumping the need to secure the victory, but once doubt was cast aside and the game became a running contest Leinster, who lost their outside-half Jonathan Sexton to a head injury nine minutes inone year after the Ireland international took an extended break from the game following a series of concussions, were competing on the terms of their opponents and not coming anywhere near.
“To win the group is an incredible achievement,” said Young. “No one gave us a chance at the start of the season and, unlike our win in Leinster a few months ago, the players should this time get the credit.” As they will, but their sting has more venom to add.
(c) The Guardian
Wasps have made their mark in Europe this season and their second thrashing of Leinster took them to the top of a group made up of former European Cup winners and a guaranteed place in the last eight. They will have to wait until Sunday to find out whether they will be home or away with Ospreys needing a bonus point victory at Exeter to thwart them, but nobody will fancy playing a side capable of playing so irresistibly.
Wasps are still evolving as a side and here their over-eagerness exposed them in the first half. They conceded two tries after making mistakes in possession, they took risks in their own territory and tried to force play too much as if thinking about the bonus point before securing victory. They needed the interval, when they led 15-10, to refocus and within 13 minutes of the restart scored the two tries they needed to guarantee their berth in the quarter-finals.
The bonus was finishing at the top of the group ahead of Toulon, reward for four overwhelming victories against Leinster, twice, Toulon and Bath and there are few more dangerous sides when a match starts to break up. It was Leinster’s heaviest defeat in the European Cup, a chastening experience for a side that dominated the tournament at the start of the decade, but after conceding the fourth try, they lost their focus and were made to pay when loose passes were turned into interception tries.
The try that effectively decided the game was not down to largesse but the calculation of the Wasps’ scrum-half, Dan Robson, who was called on five minutes in when Joe Simpson jarred his left ankle after landing on it awkwardly as he contested a high kick. Robson had only spent 66 minutes on the field in the previous five rounds and he was not going to blow a rare opportunity.
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| Daly dives in during the encounter. Theguardian |
Robson was at the heart of Wasps’ second try, supplying Joe Launchbury with the scoring pass an instant before being tackled into touch after receiving the ball via the head of George Smith, but it was the third try that stood out. Wasps were 18-10 ahead thanks to Gopperth’s second penalty and had a scrum on the halfway line: Robson looped around Gopperth and timed his pass to Elliot Daly whose diagonal run took him through a gap; his pace over 50 metres was too much for the two covering defenders.
The Wasps’ director of rugby, David Young, said that Daly had trained for one day in the build-up to the match because of a tight hamstring and his try turned a tight game into a loose one. His kick, following a turnover, had created the position from which Wasps worked their first try and as he joins up with the England squad this week, his confidence will never have been higher, a contrast to his rival at outside-cents, Jonathan Joseph.
His England colleague Launchbury was also prominent on an afternoon that saw Nathan Hughes return from injury. Wasps gradually imposed their ascendancy and when they drove a maul from a line-out having turned down the opportunity to kick for goal, George Smith emerged with the ball near the corner only for the referee to award a penalty try to virtually guarantee an extra two points.
After that it was a procession. Daly’s long pass gave Frank Halai a free run to the line, Charles Piutau ran 60 metres to score after profiting from a Leinster handling error and the replacement hooker, Ashley Johnson, scored in the final minute to take his side into the 50s. It had looked anything but a romp 50 minutes before when Leinster scored their second try through Eoin Reddan after Lorenzo Cittadini had been banished to the sin-bin for a professional foul near his own line.
Wasps had been forced into defence by a sloppy pass from George Smith, of all players. They were caught then between desire and reality, the wish to express themselves trumping the need to secure the victory, but once doubt was cast aside and the game became a running contest Leinster, who lost their outside-half Jonathan Sexton to a head injury nine minutes inone year after the Ireland international took an extended break from the game following a series of concussions, were competing on the terms of their opponents and not coming anywhere near.
“To win the group is an incredible achievement,” said Young. “No one gave us a chance at the start of the season and, unlike our win in Leinster a few months ago, the players should this time get the credit.” As they will, but their sting has more venom to add.
(c) The Guardian
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