Wasps 16 - 26 SaracensAviva Premiership RugbySunday 27 DecemberRicoh ArenaAn eagerly awaited clash which both sides billed as their biggest of the season so far, at least in Premiership terms, justified its billing at least from Saracens' perspective as their quick thinking proved the difference with two instinctive tries and delivered an eleventh straight win.
Memories were still fresh of Saracens' stunning comeback in the corresponding match last season when Richard Wigglesworth's kicking game wreaked havoc in particular. This one was different, as Wasps only sporadically flickered into life although scored a well-taken try late in the match
Wasps made more changes than expected, most notably in the back row where George Smith and Nathan Hughes were unavailable through injury so Thomas Young and Guy Thompson came in. There were three further optional changes as Alapati Leiua made a first start of the season at centre instead of Ben Jacobs, Dan Robson started at scrum half in place of Joe Simpson and James Gaskell came in at lock for Bradley Davies.
That meant a starting XV of Rob Miller at full back with a Kiwi wing duo of Frank Halai and Charles Piutau, whilst Elliot Daly and Leiua formed their centre partnership, and at half back, Jimmy Gopperth, scorer of 18 points at Bath, featured alongside Robson. Into the forwards, and the front row consisted of Matt Mullen, Ashley Johnson and Lorenzo Cittadini. Joe Launchbury was at lock, alongside Gaskell, with a revised back row of James Haskell, Young and Thompson.
For Saracens, Chris Wyles came in for Mike Ellery on the left wing, Richard Wigglesworth for Neil de Kock at scrum half, Jamie George started ar hooker instead of Schalk Brits, Jim Hamilton swapped for George Kruis at lock and a whole new back row saw Michael Rhodes, Will Fraser and Billy Vunipola come in for Jackson Wray, Kelly Brown and Samu Vunisa. Consequently, the line up was Alex Goode at full back, with Chris Ashton and Wyles on the wings, and Duncan Taylor with Brad Barritt in the centre. Owen Farrell combined with Richard Wigglesworth at half back. Mako Vunipola, George and Petrus du Plessis made up the front row, with Kruis alongside Maro Itoje at lock and the new back row of Rhodes, Fraser and Billy Vunipola.
Saracens opened the scoring with a Farrell penalty as Wasps set the tone for an error-strewn first half inside the first minute as Gopperth had a kick charged down and the visitors forced the penalty from the ensuing pressure. They extended the lead on seven minutes when, in the aftermath of a fierce collision between Miller and Farrell, the ball worked loose and Saracens won the penalty from the consequent scrum and Farrell finished from 25 metres for 0-6. The visitors might have claimed the opening try within five minutes as a Wasps knock on saw Wigglesworth put a neat grubber kick through which just eluded Ashton on the right. This was one of many Wasps errors which saw Saracens enjoying the advantage in possession and territory although they took their time to fully capitalise on some decent positions as they lost a lineout on the edge of the 22 and then conceded a penalty having initialled charged down another kick.
Although there was a heavy amount of kicking, the Saracens chase and contest was consistently strong and succeeded in penning Wasps back. A rare excursion into opposition territory came on 19 minutes when Wasps won two penalties in quick succession only to lose the lineout and they continued to struggle in retaining possession as they were hustled into constant knock-ons. The game continued to be fragmented, although Saracens should really have scored in the 25th minute when they went through the phases in the home 22 and appeared to have picked the perfect moment to go wide only for Ashton's pass to the left to narrowly elude the advancing Wyles.
On the half-hour, Wasps narrowed the deficit to 6-3 as they finally put some phases together to enter the Saracens' half and from this greater promise forced the penalty. Sarries were then caught offside almost from the kick off and offended again from the resultant lineout - Daly, who like Marcelo Bosch is a long-distance kick specialist, attempted to slot over from halfway but dropped short. The half came to a close as Ashton was penalised for a mistimed challenge on Gopperth in the air but Wasps lost possession from the lineout and the half closed on 3-6.
As the match resumed with a flurry of kicking, Daly had another penalty chance from halfway, three minutes in, and struck it better this time for 6-6. However, moments later, the visitors were ahead again as Wasps failed to roll away and Farrell collected the three points for a 9-6 lead. The home side responded with their move of the match so far as Piutau went racing away on the left wing, and though the move lost some ground in the face of some stern defence, more powerful drives from Johnson and Halai took then into the opposition 22 only for a penalty to be conceded.
The 50 minute mark saw Juan Figallo and Hamilton enter the fray in place of du Plessis and Rhodes, whilst Saracens seemed to be conceding more penalties than normal although Wasps lost their own lineout again in one example. However, when the visitors failed to roll away, parity was restored once more on 55 minutes by Gopperth from 40 metres.
Yet another lineout would prove to be even more costly for the home side three minutes later. Although Wasps kept possession from the lineout they were pushed right back towards their own line and Saracens were able to turn over possession. From the resultant play, the quick hands of Farrell and the incisive pass of Barritt found Taylor in perfect support to race forward 40 metres for a score improved by Farrell and some breathing space at 9-16.
Just four minutes later, Saracens got the decisive second try, as the Wasps defence hesitated to deal with a loose ball allowing Taylor to put Farrell through a huge gap in the middle, adding the extras as Sarries now led 23-9. Yet another illustration of the pre-match debate on here about the value of scoring tries from one and two phases, often down to quick thinking and anticipation, and certainly the case here. More substitutions followed, as Simpson entered the fray and injected more verve into the home attacking play.
However, it was Farrell who made the game safe with eight minutes remaining, opting for the three points as Wasps failed to roll away and as they led 26-9, looking likely to play the game out comfortably as Wasps appeared to have run out of ideas. Instead, though, the hosts' late resistance removed any hopes of a dramatic late bonus point a la Ulster, and they scored a fine team try with four minutes left on the clock. Piutau collected a long pass almost on his own try line and surged forward to halfway, where he found Sailosi Tagicakibau. Crisp handling saw the ball move from left to right and culminated in an assured finish for Halai on the right wing. However, it was clearly Sarries' day with another signature win on the road.
Teams
Wasps:
15 Rob Miller (Sailosi Tagicakibau 69) 14 Frank Halai: 13 Elliot Daly: 12 Alapati Leuia: 11 Charles Piutau: 10 Jimmy Gopperth: 9 Dan Robson (Joe Simpson 62): 1 Matt Mullen (Simon McIntyre 62) 2 Ashley Johnson (Ed Shervington 60): 3 Lorenzo Cittadini (Phil Swainston 69): 4 Joe Launchbury: 5 James Gaskell (Bradley Davies 60): 6 James Haskell (c): 7 Thomas Young: 8 Guy Thompson (Sam Jones 60)
Saracens
15 Alex Goode: 14 Chris Ashton (Marcelo Bosch 69): 13 Duncan Taylor: 12 Brad Barritt (c): 11 Chris Wyles: 10 Owen Farrell (Charlie Hodgson 72): 9 Richard Wigglesworth (Ben Spencer 72): 1 Mako Vunipola (Richard Barrington 69): 2 Jamie George (Jared Saunders 75): 3 Petrus du Plessis (Juan Figallo 50): 4 George Kruis: 5 Maro Itoje: 6 Michael Rhodes (Jim Hamilton 50): 7 Will Fraser (Kelly Brown 72): 8 Billy Vunipola
Referee: J P Doyle (RFU)
Attendance: 24053
Taylor Made Victory
Posted by: TheSaracens.com (IP Logged)
Date: 27/12/2015 21:37
Thanks Gerard, prompt as ever
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2016:01:04:22:06:57 by Darraghgirl.
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