Matchrapport

Strong second half display secures BP win at Twickenham

On a wet and windy afternoon at Twickenham, Wasps secured their first away win of the Premiership season, to move into the top four, claiming a bonus point in the last few minutes.

 

15 - 33

 

Sat 28th November 2015
5:30 pm

Twickenham StadiumAviva Premiership

However, they were made to work hard by a determined defensive effort from London Irish. The game was in the balance until a late Wasps' surge yielded two tries in the last ten minutes.

Wasps piled on the pressure from the start, with Ashley Johnson charging down Scott Steele’s clearance inside  the first minute. They won a lineout on the Irish 22 and launched a sweeping attack, from right to left and back across the field. Ben Jacobs, Sailosi Tagicakibau, James Haskell and Nathan Hughes all went close, before a penalty was won a few metres to the right of the posts. Ruaridh Jackson landed the kick to open the scoring.

Irish roared back, when Aseli Tikoirotuma went through a gap in midfield, to take play deep into the Wasps 22. Recycled ball was moved out to the left and Tom Fowlie was forced into touch at the corner. Wasps broke away from the lineout, but were penalised inside their 22 and Chris Noakes had the simplest of kicks to level the score at 3-3.

A typical barnstorming run by Nathan Hughes, following a lineout just inside the Irish 22, set up a good attacking position, but the ball was knocked on at the next phase, when there was a hint of an overlap on the right.

With 12 minutes gone, Frank Halai charged through midfield, setting up another multi-phase attack. Thomas Young showed an impressive turn of speed down the right, before play came back infield and Wasps were awarded a penalty, 45 metres out. Jackson’s kick went wide, but Wasps kept up the pressure, with wave after wave of attack.

After another overlap was missed, Wasps got another chance as Elliott Daly sped through a gap, before feeding James Gaskell a metre from the right corner, only for Tikoirotuma’s tackle to dislodge the ball from his hands.

After ten minutes of constant Wasps pressure, they finally had something to show for it, when Jackson landed a 35-metre penalty to restore Wasps’ lead.

With just over 20 minutes played, the game had its first scrum, with a Wasps put-in. After one reset, Wasps won a penalty. They went for touch, on the Irish 22, and a controlled build-up led to Nathan Hughes having a charge for the line, only to lose possession just short. A minute later, Tagicakibau offloaded towards Hughes, two metres from the line. Topsy Ojo managed to deflect the ball onto Hughes’s hand, and the ball went forwards.

Another attack saw Jake Cooper-Woolley going through a gap in midfield. Quick ball was moved to the left, but Jackson’s pass to James Haskell just drifted forwards, as he tried to thread it through Irish defence.

A brief heavy downpour created greasy conditions and both sides were guilty of handling errors. With ten minutes of the half to play, Irish produced their first serious pressure and put together some phases, but then spilt the ball just inside the Wasps 22. Charles Piutau gathered and fed Elliot Daly, whose long kick downfield went into touch on the full.  Play came back for the Wasps scrum, but Jake Cooper-Woolley was adjudged to have gone to ground. Chris Noakes sent his penalty wide of the posts.

Three minutes from half-time, Wasps at last breached the dogged Irish defence. Charles Piutau took a quick penalty, 35 metres out and James Haskell made a burst for the line. When he was stopped, Cooper-Woolley was stopped inches short, but quick ball was moved out to the unmarked Frank Halai, who went over in the left  corner. Jackson’s conversion attempt was off target.

Irish stormed back and a superb run by Alex Lewington almost brought a try. Blair Cowan then went close out wide on the right, before play came back across the field and Tikoirotuma fed Johnny Williams, who went over for the first try against Wasps in four games. Noakes missed the conversion, to leave the halftime score at 11-8 to Wasps - a disappointing return for a  dominant 40 minutes, in which they  had created enough opportunities  to be out of sight at the break.

Wasps started the second half well, with Elliot Daly showing his pace down the right. Play came back across the field and Nathan Hughes put in another powerful run. He took play into the 22 and had James Haskell inside him, but Blair Cowan deflected the ball backwards, before an Irish player played the ball in an offside position. Jackson’s kick drifted to the right of the posts and another chance had gone begging.

Within two minutes, Irish won a scrum penalty 15 metres inside the Wasps half, 15 metres in from the right touchline, but Noakes pulled his kick wide to the right.

Wasps then put together their best attack of the afternoon, with Johnson and Haskell combining to set up quick ball. Ruaridh Jackson fed Ben Jacobs, whose perfectly timed pass sent Elliot Daly racing clear for a fine try, which Jackson converted to give Wasps an 18-8 lead.

Five minutes later, an Irish offence at the breakdown gave Jimmy Gopperth, who’d replaced Jackson,  a 35-metre kick, straight in front of the posts. He made no mistake, to stretch the lead to 21-8.

Any thoughts that Wasps might have killed Irish resistance were immediately extinguished, when Topsy Ojo kicked down the right wing and Johnny Williams won the race to the ball, for his second try of the afternoon. Noakes converted, to bring Irish back to within six points, at 21-15, with 22 minutes still to play.

A sustained period of pressure, which went through 18 phases, stretched the Irish defence, before Jimmy Gopperth went through a gap and fed James Gaskell. He passed inside to Joe Simpson, but he lost the ball in contact, just outside the Irish 22.

16 minutes from time, Wasps won a scrum penalty, a few metres inside the Irish half. Long-range expert Elliot Daly went for the posts, but mishit his kick and it passed wide to the right.

With ten minutes left, Wasps turned down a kickable penalty, on the Irish 22. They won the lineout and a controlled drive ended with Thomas Young crashing over near the posts. Gopperth added the conversion, to give Wasps a 28-15 lead, with eight minutes in which to claim a bonus point.

It came two minutes later, after Dan Robson did well to control untidy scrum possession just inside his own half. The ball was moved out to the left and Elliot Daly produced an explosive burst of speed to make 30 metres,  before sending Frank Halai in for his second try of the day. Gopperth’s conversion came back off the post, but Wasps were now home and dry for their first London Double Header since 2011.

London Irish Line ups

1. Tom Court
2. David Paice
3. Ben Franks
4. Eoin Sheriff
5. Matt Symons
6. Joe Trayfoot
7. Blair Cowan
8. Ofisa Treviranus
9. Scott Steele
10. Chris Noakes
11. Tom Fowlie
12. Johnny Williams
13. Asaeli Tikoirotuma
14. Alex Lewington
15. Topsy Ojo
16. Gerard Ellis
17. Tom Smallbone
18. Leo Halavatau
19. Jebb Sinclair
20. Luke Narraway
21. Darren Allinson
22. Theo Brophy-Clews
23. Fergus Mulchrone

Wasps Line ups

1. Matt Mullan
2. Ashley Johnson
3. Jake Cooper-Woolley
4. James Gaskell
5. Kearnan Myall
6. James Haskell
7. Thomas Young
8. Nathan Hughes
9. Joe Simpson
10. Ruaridh Jackson
11. Frank Halai
12. Ben Jacobs
13. Elliot Daly
14. Sailosi Tagicakibau
15. Charles Piutau
16. Ed Shervington
17. Simon McIntyre
18. Lorenzo Cittadini
19. Bradley Davies
20. Sam Jones
21. Dan Robson
22. Jimmy Gopperth
23. Brendan Macken