I mentioned in my preview that I felt that this game was the
real ‘baptism’ of Wasps’ new home – but I don’t think I appreciated how
significant this really was. Several
minutes of witnessing 2 Wasps fans engaging in a Guinness-only drinking contest
with 4 Leinster-men at 10am in Wasps’ new pre-match-party arena confirmed it to
me however...Wasps are back in the big time.
I was lucky enough to witness this first hand thanks to BT
Sport, who had the good grace to show me all the backstage (and front of house)
details of the Ricoh Arena (you can find my article on that on The Rugby Blog),
but there was no-denying the real tension in the air. Here were two clubs that had previously
dominated Europe at separate times. The
Irish side, apparently on the wane, against the English club, for whom the only
way is back up; a winner-takes-all clash with only a victory carrying a
guarantee of progression (although, as it would transpire, there was an “everyone’s
a winner” scenario).
The significance of a Wasps v Leinster clash was not lost on
anyone – least of all Lawrence Dallaglio, who looked as if he wanted to get onto
the pitch himself. When asked what he was
looking forward to the most before the game, he rather predictably answered “The
battle of the number eights. Hughes and
Heaslip are two of the most athletic guys in the backrow in Europe and they
will be wanting the ball in the open spaces as much as possible.” And on Wasps’ – given no chance prior to the
start of the tournament – chances? “As long
as they start with a bang, I think they can win it”.
However, when Dallglio said ‘start with a bang’, I don’t think
Dai Young and co would have had Ashley Johnson recklessly wiping out Dave
Kearney in the air off the kick off in mind.
It was a clumsy challenge which saw the Ireland winger forced off the
pitch, and an apologetic Johnson joined him shortly after, albeit only for 10
minutes. Down to 14 men, it was hardly
the start Wasps were after on this, their biggest stage for some 7 years.
Leinster, despite an impressive showing against the hapless
Castres last weekend, have not been at their best this season – but they are still
a quality outfit and demonstrated that by taking full advantage early on. Applying pressure to a Wasps pack playing a
man-down, they used two penalty line-outs to march themselves into position
before applying relentless pressure to create an overlap for wing Fergus
McFadden to exploit, plunging over in the right hand corner. A fine touchline conversion from Ian Madigan
gave the hosts a 7 point lead – but the quality of the kick was to be
misleading, as the Leinster-man found his radar on the blink for the rest of
the afternoon.
Andy Goode pulled three points back to the delight of his
local crowd after Sean Cronin had picked up a loose ball from an offside
position, but then Madigan’s eventful afternoon continued – missing two gettable
penalties, chipping out on the full and then making a searing break...only to
ignore the overlap and butcher what looked like a certain try for his
side.
But Wasps, simply couldn’t get their hands on the ball. With Luke Fitzgerald causing mayhem in the
middle and Heaslip carrying strongly, the men in black found themselves
constantly on the back foot, resulting in (finally) another three points from
Madigan before Cittadini saw yellow for killing the ball with Leinster creeping
towards the Wasps’ line.
It didn’t help the hosts’ cause, with the Leinster pack
relishing the monopoly on possession they enjoyed. Jimmy Gopperth (relieving Madigan of kicking
duties) and Andy Goode exchanged 3 pointers before the visitors dealt what
appeared to be a hammer blow just before half time. With Leinster camped on the Wasps line, Isaac
Boss (on for the injured Eioan Reddan) and then Gopperth both had darts at the
line, with neither being awarded a try – before the TMO intervened and
determined that Boss had indeed crossed the line with his attempt a couple of
phases earlier. It was a confusing set
of circumstances but Leinster didn’t care – thanks to conversion from a
re-energised Madigan, they held a 20 – 6 lead at half time – despite losing
Kane Douglas to the sin bin for a shoulder charge on Johnson. Game over?
Not quite. A year ago
I would have pegged Wasps to cop a thrashing in this situation – but something
has definitely changed since then. For
starters, James Haskell is captain, and the England man was at the forefront of
an immensely physical display from the Wasps pack which clawed them back from
the abyss. This time Wasps did start the
half positively, with Tom Varndell haring over in the left hand corner for a
try – only for the TMO to rule it out for obstruction by Nathan Hughes. It was a borderline call, but probably the
correct one, given that Hughes is a fairly large obstruction.
Wasps, however, were undeterred, and were spurred on by the
sight of Madigan missing yet another chance to extend his side’s lead. They found the Leinster defence, however,
hard to break down – even Christian Wade, who had an industrious match, was
well-contained by an organised Leinster defence led superbly by
Fitzgerald. However, as much as Leinster
enjoyed the lion’s share of possession in the first half, it was Wasps turn in
the second period. After Hughes had made
a trademark break through the middle, the Wasps pack dragged themselves within
range to allow Matt Mullan to wriggle over for a crucial try. A fine conversion from Andy Goode pulled the
hosts back within striking distance – and it didn’t take long for them to make
their move.
After a poor kick from Gopperth gifted the hosts field
position, the Wasps driving lineout kicked into gear, providing the platform
for the magnificent Hughes to dive over for an equalising try (after Goode’s
conversion at the second attempt, thanks to an early Leinster charge) with 10
minutes to play.
The final minutes were played at a frantic pace – Gopperth,
so industrious with the ball in hand, swiped a drop goal wide before Madigan
(again, dangerous when running) followed suit with a snatched penalty attempt,
his fourth miss of the day. Wasps held
firm against the storm, and waited for their chance. Working themselves into position, Hughes and
Johnson made valuable half breaks to give Goode the space he needed – but the
former England man, such a hero in Wasps colours this season – shanked his drop
goal attempt horribly wide. The score
remained at 20 apiece.
A hushed silence fell over the stadium. Leinster had qualified, but not in the manner
that they would have wanted. There were positives,
to be sure, with O’Driscoll putting Fitzgerald forward as “a real option” for
Joe Shmidt in the 13 jersey after a physical display for Leinster. “He didn’t play the spectacular, all dancing
game that we know he can produce”, said O’Driscoll. “But he did make telling hits in defence,
especially in that second half, took good options and carried strongly. First and foremost, that’s what you want an
international centre to do”.
And for Leinster as a team?
O’Driscoll thinks more time is needed.
“There are signs that the messages from Matt O’Connor are starting to
filter through, but it isn’t a quick process.
They have shown in fits and starts how they want to play, but producing
it over 80 minutes is the real challenge now”.
Very true. Leinster
conceded 14 unanswered points in that second half – partly due to Madigan’s
kicking, partly due to being physically bullied, which is not something you
would expect from a Leinster side. For
Wasps, the heroics of that second half seemed to all be in vain – but,
following an agonising wait for the results to come in, the men from Cov (get
used to it) have made their first foray into the knockout stages since they won
the competition back in 2007, joining Leinster in the quarter finals as one of
the best runners-up.
I’m not saying this side is as good as that Dallaglio-led
Wasps one was, but all the signs are – on and off the pitch – they are on the
right path. And, thanks to a bit of luck
with other results, who knows where that path will end?
Many thanks to BT Sport for the backstage pass at the Ricoh Arena!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Share your views