Up to 6th for far from golden Wasps

Early b'day pressie
By Tight Head
April 25 2002

Maybe it's just me, but I find it intrinsically galling when the opposition runs out to "Men in Black". Both Saracens and Newcastle have purloined this theme since Wasps adopted it back in less golden days (for shirts, that is).

There was nothing particularly golden about Wasps' performance on Sunday, however. This did not look like the same coherent team that recently tore into Leicester and Gloucester. But unlike earlier in the season when I would sigh and think "Here we go again; one of THOSE days" it was difficult to believe that in the end Wasps' skill, power and guile could not see off a largely inexperienced Saracens team.
Far too many basic errors on both sides prevented the game from flowing [apart from SLander]. Our lineout failed to function, passes didn't go to hand, several turn overs and some uncharacteristically misjudged kicking from hand resulted in a lack of control and territory. The fact that our first scoring opportunity came with the final kick of the first half says it all. However, Wasps did absorb Saracens pressurewell and there were promising, yet frustratingly fleeting, glimpses of magic, like Sandie side-stepping down the touch line and Alex's one handed pick-up and clearance from within the 22. And however hard Horan tried to change the angle of Saracen's attack and gel his backs he was harried by Volls, or flattened by Trev or turned by Lawrence.

Wasps were probably fortunate only to be down 9-0 at the break. In the second half we managed to see more of the ball and hang on to it. After a sustained assault on the Saracen's line our own JPR finally crashed over, injuring Bracken in the process. Suddenly, after an early successful penalty we were in the lead! Alex then missed his first kick at goal for a very long time and Ben Johnston was allowed to scorch down the right wing seemingly unopposed. Time to start biting the nails - 14-10. Wasps' second try was another forward effort, although somewhat different in style. Trevor emerged from the back of a ruck 30-40m out and sprinted away. A perfectly timed pass saw the supporting Corp flopping gratefully over the line.

With another victory in the bag, Wasps are now in 6th place and aiming for a European spot next season (although some of us rather fancy a pop at the Bic Biro trophy) and the relegation battle carries on without us.

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Tight Head