HCup Preview: Wasps Face another Smash'n'Grab

Getting to Grips
By Peter Snow's Swingometer
December 12 2004

Heineken Cup Champions Wasps take on the two times, former champions Leicester with Biarritz waiting in the wings. Welford Road is not a happy stamping ground for us -- fourteen straight losses in the league but their was a tremendous cup success back in the shamateur days in 1995...

It was the Pilkington Cup semi-final on April 1, 1995 -- a fitting date for Wasps to throw off their Welford Road hoodoo. Just weeks earlier Tiggers had beaten us 21-6 there, ending our 10 match winning streak. It caused coach, Rob Smith, and a triumvirate of players (and what a triumvirate!: Rob Andrew, Steve Bates and Dean Ryan) to reassess further their expansive, running game. On 25 March we beat Bath 11-10 at home in a full blooded encounter. It was just the sort of test we required the week before the cup semi up at Leicester.

Come the day, Wasps controlled play to such an extent that we turned round 19-6 to the good thanks to a converted try by Hoppers, set up by that man Buster, and three drop goals and a penalty by Rob Andrew. As luck would have it, Deano (Richards) was watching from the stands with a rib injury. However, the Tigers' ire and a strong breeze soon levelled things up within 15 minutes of the restart in front of a crowd of 13,750. We were at their mercy once more but, crucially, Tiggers half-backs were pants and just could not wrest control of the midfield away from Andrew and Bates.

Fortune favours the brave, or so they say. Norm Hadley and Deano Mk.2 (Ryan) both dared to enrage the home crowd by committing foul deeds of the yellow card variety. Indeed, either or both of them were fortunate to remain on the park. Yellows in those days did not mean a trip to the sin-bin for a ten minute cigarette break. They stayed on to give us the platform to grab two penalty goals sandwiching a John Liley reply.

With the clock ticking down, Tony Underwood managed to spin a pass to Stuart Potter, lurking ominously inside, just 15 metres from the try-line. The rugby gods smiled on Wasps as Potter knocked on the ball with our defence riven wide open. The gods smiled once more as Jez Harris missed a final drop at goal just before the end. Tigers were out of the cup!

The teams, scorers and the referee that day? Here they are for posterity:

Leicester: J Liley; T Underwood, D Edwards, S Potter, R Underwood; J Harris, A Kardooni; G Rowntree, R Cockerill, D Garforth, M Johnson, M Poole, J Wells (capt), C Tarbuck, N Back.

Try: R Underwood. Conversion: Liley. Penalties: Liley (5).

Wasps: J Ufton; P Hopley, D Hopley, G Childs, S Roiser; R Andrew, S Bates; N Popplewell, K Dunn, I Dunston, M Greenwood, N Hadley, L Dallaglio, D Ryan (capt), M White.

Try: D Hopley. Conversion: Andrew. Penalties: Andrew (3). Drop goals: Andrew (3).

Referee: S Lander (RFU).

Today, all our lads have to do is match fire with fire (and stay on the park, Lawrence). We gave them one hell of a beating in '95. We also gave them one hell of a beating during our last game at the Loft. A day to remember (but can we do it on the road?):

31 Mar 2002 Tigers 36 - 24 Loftus Road

Expect Jonno's boys to come looking for another homer, however. The first ten minutes are the key to this contest.

Wasps: 15 Mark Van Gisbergen; 14 Josh Lewsey, 13 Ayoola Erinle, 12 Stuart Abbott,
11 Tom Voyce; 10 Alex King, 9 Matt Dawson; 1 Craig Dowd, 2 Phil Greening, 3 Will Green, 4 Simon Shaw, 5 Richard Birkett, 6 Joe Worsley, 7 Jonny O’Connor, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio (Capt.)

Bench: 16 Ben Gotting, 17 Alistair McKenzie, 18 James Haskell, 19 John Hart, 20 Harvey Biljon, 21 James Brooks, 22 Rob Hoadley.

Leicester: TBA (The usual suspects)