Wasps left praying for a miracle after late collapse

HARLEQUINS 33 WASPS 28

WHEN Brendan Macken crashed over for Wasps’ fourth try of the game in the 55th minute, the visitors looked on course for an emphatic victory. Dai Young, the director of rugby, had set Wasps a target of nine points from the remaining two rounds in Pool 1. Macken’s score and Danny Cipriani’s conversion had them cruising at 28-12. Bonus point in the bag. Five points secured. Job done. Ulster visit the Ricoh Arena next Sunday and it was shaping up to be a winner-takes-all clash. Then came an implosion of epic proportions. Tries by Danny Care, Elia Elia and James Chisholm in the final quarter completed a remarkable Quins fightback and all but ended Wasps’ European hopes. To compound their misery, James Haskell was dismissed four minutes from time for a late, high tackle on Jamie Roberts. Chisholm burrowed over for the match-winning score soon afterwards. Wasps will need five points against Ulster and hope other results go their way if they are to have any chance of sneaking through. ‘They kept on playing no matter what the scoreboard said… and we stopped playing,’ Young said. Wasps led 21-0 late in the first half thanks to tries from Kyle Eastmond, Nizaam Carr and Ashley Johnson. Ross Chisholm and James Lang replied for Quins before the break. ‘We’ll want to win against Ulster and if a miracle happens then happy days, but miracles don’t tend to happen too much in Coventry,’ Young added. .