Early bath for Elia dampens Robshaw’s farewell party
ELIA ELIA’S red card allowed Wasps to fight back in the second half and deny Quins captain Chris Robshaw victory in his final match at The Stoop.
Robshaw played a part in the first of Alex Dombrandt’s two first-half tries, which put Quins 15-8 up at the break after Tom Willis grabbed Wasps’ try.
Marcus Smith added to the lead before Elia was sent off in the 53rd-minute for a tip tackle on Dan Robson. Wasps took advantage with tries from Gabriel Oghre, Thomas Young and Jack Willis completing the comeback.
Harlequins boss Paul Gustard said: “Chris has been outstanding and I’m personally gutted for him that he didn’t win his final game at the Stoop.”
Elia’s red card was the tipping point that allowed Wasps to stretch clear. Gustard added: “The tackle was the vital moment. We conceded 24 points after the red card. At that point we were 20-8 up. The momentum was massively with us and then we lost that player.
“It was a late tackle. The referee did pretty well and I supported the decision.”
Wasps’ late turnaround for the bonus-point win lifts them to second in the table with one match remaining and capable of earning a home semi-final if they beat competition pacesetters Exeter in their final regular season fixture today.
Robshaw’s Stoop farewell was played in a near-deserted ground, but there was a pyrotechnics display and members of both clubs applauded the 34-year-old as he took the field.
Wasps started the brighter against a Quins side forced to reshuffle their front row just before kick-off, as prop Santiago Garcia Botta failed a late fitness test and was replaced by Marc Thomas, while Elia came in at hooker after Scott Baldwin was injured in the warm-up.
Wasps’ dominance at the scrum early on led to Tom Willis going over for the game’s first try. Dombrandt levelled and again sliced through the Wasps defence just after the half-hour mark to edge Quins ahead for the first time.
Smith, who traded penalties with Jimmy Gopperth to finish the first half, produced the moment of the night for Quins’ third try after the break, collecting his own chipped kick to race away and score.
Moments after Quins had Elia sent off, Wasps took full advantage with Oghre touching down.
A penalty from Smith put the Londoners eightpoints up, but Young’s converted try put Wasps within a point of Quins, and Jack Willis competed the remarkable turnaround three minutes later.
Wasps head coach Lee Blackett said: “In the first half they had the advantage, but our bench gave us a great impact.
“It’s the confidence of the group to come back. Did we play well? No. But it’s coming to the business end, so it’s about results now.”