Cold day in Coventry.....

I can’t in all honesty say that going to Wasps is my favourite away trip: I would quickly hasten to add that it’s nothing all to do with the club itself – despite the longstanding rivalry between Sarries and Wasps, which has to a great extent survived the latter's unexpected move from Wycombe to the West Midlands in 2014, their fans are always fine and they’re usually a decent side to watch. It’s not even that Coventry is a city I’m not particularly fond of – it's a characterless place and I’ve less than enjoyable memories of being dragged there too many times as a child in the days when a drive down from Birmingham to walk round Coventry Cathedral (again) was considered by my elders and betters to be an exciting day out for the kids It’s the stadium that I just don’t like – a flatpack, turn-of the-Millennium bowl like so many other football grounds built around that time and which, unlike Ashton Gate, and, as many of you will remember, St James’s Park in Newcastle, plus, so I’m told, ahead of my first visit in  a couple of weeks, the brand spanking new Brentford Community stadium (definitely not a flatpack bowl), just doesn’t, to me at least, work as a rugby venue.

After a circuitous taxi journey from the station, we arrived at the headquarters of Coventry Welsh RFC, the SSA’s choice of pre-match meeting place/watering hole and were afforded a very warm welcome, reasonably priced and well-kept beer and an food van just outside the clubhouse which provided a good choice of fare including my selection. a delicious hot roast pork cob with stuffing, gravy and roast potatoes – all in all a reminder if we needed it of the joys of a proper rugby club.

And so to the game, where we’d erroneously booked seats slightly away from our Sarries family, but that was soon remedied as there were plenty of spare places.to move to, and we settled down in the biting cold armed with cups of hot but, compared to our own Tiki Tonga inferior, coffee – although thankfully, it wasn’t raining – to see if our boys could complete the Premiership double over our Hymenopteric chums.

Wasps have had their injury issues this season, although their squad today is pretty formidable with the likes of Jimmy Gopperth, Dan Robson, Josh Bassett, Brad Shields, Elliott Stooke and Tom Cruse providing no little quality, and a welcome sight to everyone at the CBSA, including Sarries fans I'm sure, will be the return of Joe Launchbury after the better part of a year out with injury.

Sarries, of necessity, have made a number of changes, having lost Jamie, Max, Nick I, Elliot Daly and of course Maro to England duty although for this game at least we have retained the services of Nick T, Andy and Sean who are all in their countries' set-ups.

I’m sorry to see that we have Alex Goode and Mako as co-captains – I for one don’t think this works, and I don’t really understand why we’re persisting with this practice.

I’m also sorry for slightly difererent reasons to learn that Karl Dickson is replacing Wayne Barnes as ref today – never my favourite match official and he recently took charge of the home loss against Gloucester.   

The game gets underway and Wasps are “at it” from the off, dominating possession and pushing forward in the opening couple of minutes with Sarries looking a little out of sorts.

it’s really no surprise when after 3 minutes a penalty from the ever-reliable Gopperth puts the home side 3-0 ahead, seeing their their lead quickly extended by another seven points after good work from Robson sets up Spink to go over on the right at 6 minutes  - we in black and red have a brief moment of hope when the TMO checks the passage of play leading up to the try (ball went forward?) but it’s given; a successful conversion from Gopperth makes it 10-0 with less than 10 minutes played.

It’s not uncommon for Sarries to get caught “cold” early in games but they’re struggling to make any headway so far as Wasps continue to dominate possession and territory although there’s some small relief for the travelling fans when Gopperth misses a penalty after a quarter of an hour (awarded it seems after the original decision, a free kick, was changed after, you guessed it, some Sarries backchat – I don’t have a “ref link” at the game and I can’t help thinking, and this is wrong of me, that whatever was said might have been met with a slightly different reaction from Wayne Barnes)   - small mercies and all that - although there’s plenty of game time left so long as Sarries can find some rhythm and put some phases together when we do have the ball.

Moving to the end of the first quarter, the pressure eases a little after Goode and Tompkins make some ground and Sarries win a penalty (not rolling away) , from which the reliable boots of Lozowski take the score to 10-3 and there’s something to build on.

Shortly afterwards, Wasps restore their lead to double figures when a penalty, again for not rolling away, is dispatched by the ageing but classy Gopperth for 13-3.

Sarries are starting to make a game of it now, with a chip from Manu and a clever Goode kick through the Wasps line sets up an alert Lewington to race onto the ball but although we of the black and red passion are out of our seats and shouting it doesn’t look certain that sufficient downward pressure has been applied to the flying pill – which was in short order confirmed by the TMO.   

Lewington has better fortune not long afterwards, as Sarries seek to get back on terms with their first period of sustained pressure as the half-hour approaches and although a barnstorming carry from Billy is stopped just short of the Wasps try line, our remarkably soft-handed human wrecking ball deftly offloads to Lewington who gets over on the left; Lozowski unfortunately misses the conversion attempt but at 13-8 Sarries are back in the game.

Looking to press home the change in momentum, Sarries have a half-chance to edge ahead as the half draws to its closing stages when Tompkins breaks to make some ground, and then a clever grass-cutter from Manu almost puts Segun clear but the ball bounces away from him.

Keeping the pressure on, Sarries win three penalties in succession, the third of which is kicked to 5 metres out; the ensuing maul drives to the line and Woolstencroft powers over to level the scores but Lozowski’s conversion hits the post and the players head for the warmth of the dressing rooms with the score at 13-13 and Sarries ending the half looking slightly the stronger of the two sides.

Sarries have recovered well from a poor start, and to paraphrase the annoying football cliché it’s been a half of two halves but something seems not quite right today; aside from any disruption caused by the absence of our internationals, which admittedly is something the club normally deals with pretty well, I don’t know if everyone’s been unsettled by the news about Mark McCall sadly having to take a break from his duties, which would be a perfectly understandable reaction in the minds of those close to Mark.       

The second half begins very much in the same vein as the first, with Wasps taking an early lead through the Peter Pan-like Gopperth after Wasps win a penalty from the line out following a penalty from a scrum, and Sarries are behind by 16-13 after the ball sails over off the post.

Wasps, again as with the opennig stages of the first half, drive forward into the Sarries 22, winning a penalty for a high tackle by Lewington after it had looked we’d held our hosts at bay, and at a quarter of an hour into the second half Gopperth makes it 19-13; we’re still in this although we’re going to need more of the ball.

Manu gets us briefly out of our seats as tries to inject some magic into proceedings when he chases his own grass-cutter, but nothing comes of this, and shortly afterwards Sarries go even closer when after winning a penalty from a line out, Christie powered over for what looked like a valid try from where we were, but it’s disallowed by the TMO who determines that Shields has been illegally cleared out by Swinson in the build-up; maybe it’s just not our day.

Sarries’ discipline is starting to creak now, as we lose two line outs in a row and once more we’re under pressure but manage to hold out.

Tompkins again warms us up with a trademark charge for the line with Davies, now on for Van Zyl, alongside but the excitement ends with a penalty to Wasps.

Many games have a pivotal moment, resting if you’re lucky (or unlucky, dependent on whether the beneficiary is your team or not) on a quite brilliant piece of play, or if you’re not an error by an unfortunate mistake be it, say, a missed tackle or a handling error- but the worst kind of “moment” is that brought about by a glaring error from match officials.

In the latter instance, Gopperth attempts a 50:22, which falls a couple of metres short of the 22 metre line and bounces over the line: I and those around me see it clearly as it happens close to where we’re sitting. Line out to Sarries? No, don't be silly.

In the infinite wisdom of the match officials and to indignant howls from our side of the pitch (plus, I shamefacedly admit, a few ill-chosen Anglo-Saxon epithets from myself – apologies to those sitting near me), what is in fact a 50:24 is deemed to be within the rules giving the ball to the kicking side, and from the ensuing line out Wasps put Sarries under the longest period of sustained pressure we’ve seen in the match but with a knock on by Wasps, again in front of out section, also being missed the frustration with Mr Dickson et al is mounting.

Sarries are defending well, and even push Wasps back at one point, as the men in black and yellow try and work their way across and through the red wall - eventually succeeding with Stooke finding a way over after being set up deftly by Robson. Gopperth converts successfully and as the game nears a close it looks like 26-13 will be the final score.

Sarries are not quite ready to lie down and accept the defeat though, finding some momentum as the clock ticks towards 80 minutes; with one minute left an error by Wasps lets Tompkins in to go over and allows the ice-cool Lozowski to successfully convert from out on the right and secure a losing bonus point...and the game is over....

I’m not going to rant on further about the pivotal refereeing error, let alone my opinion of Karl Dickson because, in the scheme of things, Wasps were the better side and deserved their win albeit that the try count was 3-2 in Sarries’ favour.  

In terms of form, Sarries need to find a way to play consistently over 80 minutes, and after two consecutive defeats in the Premiership we remain second but the gap between us and Quins in third is but one point – the other slight frustration being that a win today would, with the weekend’s other results, have taken us to within one win of Tigers at the top. We’re now only four points ahead of Saints in fifth place.

In terms of performances, Nick Tompkins stood out for me, and Billy worked hard.

Manu Vunipola concerns me a little as I don’t feel he’s currently progressing as rapidly as he might, although to be fair he is still only 21 and it isn’t uncommon for players of his age to plateau a bit - expectations have been high since he broke through into the senior squad, though....and it can'be easy carrying that surname on your shirt.... 

Jonny Browne

Wasps: 15 Watson, 14 Odogwu, 13 Spink, 12 Gopperth, 11 Bassett, 10 Atkinson, 9 Robson, 1 West, 2 Cruse, 3 Alo, 4 Launchbury (capt), 5 Stooke, 6 Fifita,            7 Oghre  8 Shields

Replacements: Van Vuuren, Hislop, Millar-Mills, Gaskell, Morris, Wolstenholme, Fekitoa, Miller

Saracens: 15 Goode (co-capt), 14 Segun, 13 Lozowski, 12 Tompkins, 11 Lewington, 10  Manu Vunipola, 9 Van Zyl, 1 Mako Vunipola (co-capt),  2 Woolstencroft      3 Koch, 4 Hunter-Hill, 5 Swinson, 6 McFarland, 7 Earl, 8 Billy Vunipola

Replacements: Lewis, Mawi, Clarey, Venter, Christie, Davies, Jackson, Maitland

Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU) – replaced published referee (Wayne Barnes)