Wasps’ winning run is sunk by Sharks in rare poor performance
LEE Blackett suffered his first defeat as permanent Wasps head coach as Sale Sharks got their season back on track at the Ricoh Arena.
Five penalties from the boot of AJ Macginty and a second-half try from Luke James saw Steve Diamond’s side earn their first win since the Gallagher Premiership season restarted after suffering back-to-back losses.
The 20-11 defeat brought to an end Wasps’ sensational run of five wins, complete with bonus points, that propelled them from the bottom third of the table and into the play-off positions. All of the fluency and flair that has been the side’s hallmark in those wins was missing as a crippling penalty count, chiefly at scrum time, and superb Sale defence suffocated any fluency that threatened to break out.
Even Jack Willis’ 10th try of a prolific season, that will surely end with international honours with England head coach Eddie Jones watching on, did not earn his side the consolation of a losing bonus point, as Jimmy Gopperth
pulled his 80th minute conversion attempt horribly wide. In swirling wind and rain the first half was a turgid affair stifled by handling errors and the award of 20 penalties 11 of them against Wasps. It was Sale that looked the most likely to score as they kicked to the corner and drove for the line, forcing a succession of penalties.
The visitors in the end opted to come away with something for their efforts with Macginty’s first successful kick after eight minutes. Wasps’ first points came in similar circumstances. A driving maul from 20 metres out went within metres of the line before collapsing. They attempted a further drive but like Sale, finally chose to go for goal as Gopperth levelled the scores eight minutes before the break.
A late flurry of penalties saw Macginty and Gopperth take the game to 6-6 before the Sale Sharks flyhalf, with the last play of the half, put his side three points ahead after Jacob Umaga went high on the rampaging Rohan Janse van Rensburg.
Wasps flew out the blocks in the second half as Gopperth’s grubber kick was hacked forward by Italian Matteo
You’ve not gone from being a great team last week to a poor team now, we will treat it as a bad day at the office and just learn from it.
Lee Blackett
Minozzi. His offload to Umaga looked destined to see the first try of the game scored but Sale recovered well.
Having scored four tries here through their forwards in their previous match against Worcester, Wasps drove for the line but came up short as Sale passed their early second-half test.
Sale didn’t waste their first opportunity to score the first points of the second half as Jack Willis was penalised and Macginty confidently knocked over his fourth successful kick.
Worse was to come as Macginty added a simple penalty as Wasps’ scrum wobbled. That lead was stretched to 14 points when James profited from sharp work from scrum-half
Will Cliff to burrow over in the right corner a minute into the final quarter.
With Jono Ross yellow carded, Wasps had a late run at earning a try that gave them a shot at a losing bonus point. They managed it through Willis’ drive for the line.
But Gopperth dragged the extras wide as Sale closed out the game.