WASPS’ WINNING FEELING GOES ON
LOCAL DERBY SEES FIFTH BONUS POINT WIN IN AS MANY GAMES FOR LEE’S TEAM
WASPS 32 WORCESTER WARRIORS 17
AN OVERHAULED Wasps team sensationally came from behind at the break to extend their winning run to five Gallagher Premiership games – all of them complete with bonus points.
Both sides rang the changes for the Friday night Ricoh Arena encounter but it was Alan Solomons’ visitors who took a deserved 17-13 lead at the break through tries from Nick David and Beck Cutting.
Tom Willis’ try kept Wasps in the contest and after the break it was one-way traffic. Tries from a hat-trick of hookers; Gaby Oghre, Alfie Barbeary and a fourth at the death from Tom Cruse earned Wasps a 32-17 win that takes Wasps third in the table with six games remaining.
Wasps were the early aggressors earning a succession of penalties and boldly turned down a shot at goal.
From a close-range scrum, Ben Vellacott, five minutes into his home debut, peeled off to cross the line to score.
However, it was chalked off as Ben Morris was adjudged to have bound a tackler in beyond the end of the scrum.
Worcester rallied around their second chance, taking the game to Wasps and after driving to within inches of the line. With defenders pulled into defend the line, Warriors winger Nick David was gifted a clear route to the line.
Rob Miller landed a penalty but back came Worcester. Duncan Weir’s deep touch-finding penalty was rewarded by another powerful drive and hooker Beck Cutting coming up with the ball. Weir’s conversion opened a 14-3 lead.
Wasps finally got the try their play threatened when Tom Willis used his sizable frame to scoop grounded ball from a metre out and powering his way to the line.
Miller’s conversion cut the gap to four.
Weir and Miller exchanged penalties as Worcestrer went in 17-13 to the good at the break.
The same two players missed long distance attempts early into the second half as the score remained unchanged until the hour mark.
Oghre, playing out of position at openside before later returning to the familiar territory of between the props, earned a penalty for his side on the 22 and James Gaskell’s bold captaincy call to go to the corner was rewarded when Oghre himself turned it into five points – and Wasps the slenderest of leads – as Miller missed from the tee.
The win was secured when teenage hooker Alfie Barbeary drove over on debut before a third hooker, Tom Cruse, drove over at the death to secure the hosts maximum points.