ZPReview: Depleted London Wasps Big Game Mentality

Gats in charge
By General Sup & GD
September 20 2004

Leeds Tyes entertained London Wasps to a late, late Sunday night show at Headingley last night. Neither club had won a game, and it showed. However, neither set of supporters were surprised, unlike the hacks. It was time a "big" game of sorts and high time for the champions to shape up.

Pre-Wycombe Waspies (PWWs) may recall a similar spate of injuries hampering our early season during the 2001-2002 season when Lawrence Dallaglio was still recovering from the cruciate ligament injury which cut short his Lions tour to Australia. Although our injury list is still growing by the week, it is too early yet to equate this season with those black days.

PWWs will keenly remember our post-Christmas trip to Headingley when a Craig Dowd brace began to right a severely listing London Wasps as the snow fell on a bitterly cold day. It was shortly before Warren Gatland was due to join the club at Nigel Melville's invitation (little though we knew it, Mellie's reign was coming to an end).

Leeds Tykes were struggling back then too, but the RFU's block on Rotherham's promotion gave them the respite they badly needed. London Wasps were to climb the Premiership steadily in 2002 to finish a respectable seventh under Gats tutelage, and we know the rest...

With hindsight, the dour struggle before the New Year of 2002 proved to be a boon for London Wasps. A new era was ushered in as Gats new structures renewed the club's work ethic. Entry to the lesser of the two European competitions allowed Wasps to get back to winning ways as new systems and ideas were adopted.

Injuries unbalance a team's preparation, and so Wasps arrived at another must-win encounter with Leeds Tykes once more. And just think, as rumour has it, Gats nearly didn't come to London Wasps. For it seems that Mellie's initial approach after Gats had been unceremoniously dumped by Ireland was not firmed up for weeks afterwards.

As Gats enjoyed a festive break away from it all back home in New Zealand, he might but have wondered what else he should do if London Wasps didn't get back to him. Fortunately for us, he bided his time. Just wait and see where Wasps end up this season!

In spite of the appalling kick-off time, an upstanding Waspie posted the latest chapter in the wee hours: Leeds Tykes 9 London Wasps 13, LBND DG and all...

Scorers:

Leeds Tykes: Pens: Ross 3
London Wasps: Try: Green; Con: King; Pen: King; DG: Dallaglio!

Author: GD
Date: 20-09-04 02:46

I know any win away from home is not to be sneezed at but - "atchoo!"

Maybe it was Sunday night rugby feeling a bit dismal, maybe it was the ridiculous sight of Wasps running out wearing Leeds' away kit, but I thought this was a very unconvincing performance.

For the first 72 minutes we couldn't generate any sustained momentum or pressure. We had no "go forward" using my limited coaching vocabulary. Our control of the ball at the breakdown was terrible, we lost the ball in contact and our set-pieces were under pressure.

Leeds edged the scrums whilst our line-out was a mess. We were back to the days of the hooker setting himself for the throw, pausing, pausing again, Birkettt waving frantically and irritably, and then the ball sailing straight over his head.

When we did get some possession it was invariably very slow ball which meant that the backs received it standing still with their opposite number right on top of them. Snyman had a very good game for Leeds. Kinga hardly received a pass that he could run on to. This wasn't the fault of the scrum-half. It was more that our forwards hadn't generated any momentum. We didn't look abrasive enough and didn't seem to have a ball-carrier until Joe took responsibility in the last 10 minutes. Our forwards weren't big or ugly enough. It was the sort of game that was crying out for someone like a sadly departed open-side flanker to charge with the ball straight at Gordon Ross' chest.

Other parts of our game were distinctly off-key. Too many players fell off tackles. Our chasing game was awful. There's no point continuing with the tactic of keeping kicks in field if we don't then follow them up and smack into the opposition when they run back at us. Too often the first tackler let themselves be side-stepped rather tamely.

LBND's drop goal will get the headlines for novelty value. Those three points also proved to be crucial. However I viewed it, in all it's very scruffy miss-hit wobbly glory, as symptomatic of how badly we were playing. With 30 minutes gone why are our back row attempting drop goals from 25m out in front of the posts rather than smacking into Phil Christophers? Why was he passed the ball in that position when faced by about 3 defenders, with one Wasps player to his right and the 13 others to the left? Perhaps the drop goal was the right option so that he didn't get isolated, perhaps his ribs had already gone and he wanted to avoid contact. At the time it felt like a poor decision and felt like we were not confident in our ability to string two phases of play together.

There were of course some good things. MVG had his best game of the season and some of his running out of defence was superb. Voyce also looked dangerous whenever he had the ball.

Our try was marvellous. Has Will Green ever scored a try that's not been at the end of a long range move by the backs? This one was no different. Fantastic quick hands by MVG, a lightning fast "take and give", followed by a tremendous outside break by Voyce. Top notch.

Richards had a good game and was commendably feisty. He really took the battle to the opposition as did Ali Mc when he came on. JOC is obviously getting more match fit by the game because he gradually became more and more prominent as the game went on. A very energetic performance. Alex kicked his three goals with ease, making light of the stiff breeze. Birkett has been our most consistent player of the season so far IMO.

Perhaps the best aspect was the last 10 minutes. All through the second half this felt like a game that we would let Leeds into by conceding penalties due to our inabilty to sustain field position. I was readying myself for our now traditional injury time frantic effort to salvage the game. Thankfully the need didn't come. With 72 minutes on the clock our forwards suddenly started to pick and drive, they kept possession, they knocked Leeds players out the way, and they stopped running into their own colleagues and so avoided any more accidental offside decisions. It all looked so much easier. Well played Worzle, Ali Mc and Mark Lock in particular.

Wasps MOTM = MVG. Not a vintage crop of performances though.

The M1 is much clearer on a Sunday night at 10pm as opposed to 6pm.