Look Hughes here, Eddie
EDDIE JONES will be unable to name the injured Billy Vunipola in his autumn Tests squad on Thursday but he can draw comfort from the presence of Nathan Hughes, who dragged Wasps out of their torpor as a five-game winless run ended in style last night.
The No 8 was a totemic figure as Wasps swatted Harlequins aside at the Ricoh Arena to get their Champions Cup campaign into gear. They scored five tries – two from Christian Wade – and Hughes was man of the match.
“He’s looking a comfortable international No8 now. He’s making game-changing moments both sides of the ball. He led from the front,” said Wasps director or rugby Dai Young.
“There were some big carries from our forwards and on the back of five tries I think our confidence will come back.”
Harlequins chose to axe England wing Marland Yarde, who had been named in their original line-up, for an “internal disciplinary matter”.
Yarde carries a reputation for trouble with his timekeeping and Quins director of rugby John Kingston lost patience after he was late again for training this week and dropped him on Saturday.
“The punishment that was meted out was to drop him. That’s it. End of. He is available for selection for tomorrow’s A team game if I decide that’s the right thing,” he said.
Jones, watching from the stands, will have been disappointed, but as he views the wing as a pet project it is unlikely to affect his chance of England selection this week.
Outmuscled when Quins beat them in the Premiership last month, Wasps were much more abrasive yesterday. Their rugby was a long way from silky smooth but that came secondary to ferocity. The pretty stuff can come later; yesterday was about turning around the truck.
Wasps were 14-0 up within seven minutes. Hughes burst down the narrow side off a lineout and put Dan Robson in for their opening try.
Then Quins’ teenage fly-half Marcus Smith was charged down by Jimmy Gopperth and lost out to Wade in a sprint for the loose ball.
Dave Ward found himself back somersaulting when he tasted the power of the Hughes paw before Wasps struck again in the 32nd minute. The force was collective with hooker Ashley Johnson burrowing over from a lineout drive.
The visitors were down to 14 men at the time after Mike Brown was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on.
Joe Marler followed him in the 50th minute for a forearm to the head of Will Rowlands. Marler complained to referee Mathieu Raynal that it was a fair response to being held but in this climate of zero tolerance he could have seen red.
After seeing the deficit cut on the hour when replacement Francis Saili, who later departed on a stretcher after being knocked out in a tackle, crossed for Quins with his first touch, Josh Bassett secured the bonus point 18 minutes from time with a smart finish from Elliot Daly’s long pass.
Wade added his second after picking off Ben Glynn’s pass and racing in from 60 metres, and Wasps finished well clear.
They and are up and running in Pool One. Quins, after two defeats in two games, are headed out at the pool stage.