ULTIMATE STING
Wasps snatch win at the death as Bassett scores dramatic try
THE great entertainers delivered the ultimate Houdini act.
Wasps had been bullied, bludgeoned and battered but with two minutes left on the clock they escaped to book their place in Saturday’s final against Exeter.
With Leicester No 10 Freddie Burns lying face down and unconscious on the turf, Josh Bassett dived over for a try in the 78th minute to give Wasps the Twickenham date they deserve.
Leicester’s tactics were clear from the moment they warmed up.
While Wasps spread across the full width of the pitch — all pace and precision — Matt O’Connor squeezed his forwards into a narrow, fivemetre channel and set out an array of tackle bags.
Jimmy Gopperth struck a penalty in the first minute but the Tigers pack soon started to hound the breakdown; snarling, shouting and smashing anything in black.
They played a tight game — carrying though their heavy hitters and kicking long — but a wayward clearance by Freddie Burns soon gifted the hosts the first try.
With their galactico backline, Wasps only needed the faintest sniff of a scoring opportunity. Their pack provided the platform from a driving line out and Leicester sensed danger. They rushed up in defence but the handling of Jimmy Gopperth and Danny Cipriani proved faster.
Willie Le Roux was sent clear down the left wing and the South African flicked an inside pass to Kurtley Beale — who will be terribly missed next season — to establish a 10-0 lead after only eight minutes.
For Leicester captain Tom Youngs, the result of this match will pale into insignificance. Rugby has provided an escape for the hooker, whose wife Tiff is currently suffering from terminal illness. This was Youngs’ 100th start for the club and the skipper soon won a breakdown penalty that was kicked by Burns.
Few English players offer more showmanship t han Burns. The No 10 has been ushered out of the backdoor at Welford Road in a £500,000 swap deal with Bath for George Ford. Only time will tell whether it is money well spent.
Would half a million pounds be better spent on a world-class No 8?
Burns has had an 85 per cent goalkicking rate this season compared to Ford’s 71 and is leaving in the best form of his career. After exchanging kicks with Gopperth, the No 10 exploited an overlap and fizzed one of the finest passes of the season off his left hand.
It f ound Peter Betham, who waltzed past Christian Wade to restore parity after 28 minutes.
Wasps were unsettled — feeling the force of on and off-the-ball collisions — but they capitalised as Leicester boiled over.
Gopperth struck the post with a kick but after Leicester were marched backwards 10 metres for backchat, the centre edged Wasps ahead.
Next to the headline names on Wasps’ team-sheet, it is easy for Thomas Young to fade into obscurity. Facing stiff competition from Lions duo Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric, Young is uncapped by Wales.
But this was Leicester’s 13th consecutive semi-final and their biggame experience began to show. Beale departed with a hamstring injury and veteran prop Dan Cole showed his Lions credentials via ball carrying and scrummaging.
Using their power game, Leicester marched downfield and Owen Williams intercepted before Telusa Veainu scored down the left flank.
At the finale, the pressure on the Leicester line was relentless but Tigers held firm. Just.
O’Connor probably left cracks in his desk with his fist as he shouted ‘Long! Long! Long!’
His players sucked up the pressure but it was breathless and uncomfortable.
Something had to give and, after 78 minutes, Bassett dived over on the left to break Leicester hearts.