So sweet for Wasps as Bassett lands the final thrust
TALK about the year of living dangerously. Wasps, who finished top of the table having led it since the New Year, came within a whisker of losing this home Premiership semi-final to an unfancied Leicester side that brought blood, sweat – and very nearly tears – to the 29,000 crammed into the Ricoh.
In the end Wasps escaped the Tigers claws thanks to a full-throttle final assault which eventually saw wing Josh Bassett squeeze in at the corner three minutes from time after Danny Cipriani and Jimmy Gopperth worked him clear. Although Gopperth was unable to add the extras from the touchline, they held onto a precious one point victory to progress to Saturday’s final.
However, the unpalatable reality is if they play like this when they meet Exeter at Twickenham then, instead of winning their first title since 2008, they are in danger of being cleaned-up.
The Leicester forwards ambushed a surprisingly tentative Wasps pack, and having taken a 20-16 lead on 53 minutes thanks to a Telusa Veainu try they tackled themselves to a standstill to repel wave on wave of attacks from the home side in the final quarter.
This was a throwback to the Tigers of old as they weathered a strong Wasps start to narrow the gap to 16-13 at half-time. Led by Tom Youngs their forwards scrapped for everything, hitting Wasps hard at the breakdown, slamming into them in the middle and on the fringes of rucks and mauls, and succeeding in breaking Wasps rhythm in the 40 minutes either side of the interval.
It was just as well that Wasps began briskly, and were rewarded when Gopperth slammed over his longest penalty of the season to take the lead when Brendon O’Connor infringed from the kick-off. It got even better for the home fans when the Wasps backs attacked slickly from a line-out drive on a Joe Launchbury catch.
Cipriani’s long pass to Beale caught the Tigers on the hop, and when the Australian full-back linked with Le Roux and then took a basketball-pass return to score it all looked too good to be true. The feelgood factor was reinforced when Gopperth knocked over the conversion from the touchline to make it 10-0 with only seven minutes played.
With Freddie Burns leading the resistance by nailing two penalties Tigers narrowed the gap to 10-6 before Gopperth was on target again to make it 13-6. However, Leicester responded with a 12-phase attack that finished with a brilliant 20 metre pass from Burns to put Peter Betham over, and with the inspired fly-half also converting from touch Tigers levelled it at 13-13.
That’s how it would have remained at the interval if Ellis Genge had not decided to knock the ball out of Joe Simpson’s hands at a Wasps penalty, and a ten metre march back saw Gopperth administer the punishment.
The tables were turned early in the second half with a Leicester assault seeing Mike Williams deflect an Ashley Johnson pass to O’Connor in the Wasps 22. After a drive for the line Burns and Owen Willams combined to put the dangerous Veainu over, with Burns adding the extras.
Cue a wave of Wasps replacements in the final quarter, and with Dan Robson and Guy Thompson the pick of them, and Launchbury leading powerfully from the front, they set about trying to run Leicester off their feet.
The Tigers resistance was heroic as a 16-phase assault lasting four minutes saw Nathan Hughes and Thomas Young came within a whisker of making scoring passes, first to Bassett and then Gopperth.
However, it drew the last bit of sap from Leicester, and as Wasps came again with Thompson, Young and Launchbury, ramming towards their line, the home side finally secured their place in the final by putting Bassett over.