Harlequins sting the Wasps as they battle back to stunning win
JAMES HASKELL was sent off for a dangerous tackle as Wasps collapsed to a dramatic 33-28 defeat by Harlequins that all but ends their European Champions Cup quest.
Haskell flattened Jamie Roberts with a shoulder-high challenge in the 76th minute that was also late, receiving a straight red card from referee Roman Poite and ending the groggy Wales centre’s afternoon.
Leading 21-0 after 30 minutes, they leaked a succession of tries, grabbed the bonus point, before falling apart once again as touch downs from Danny Care, Elia Elia and James Chisholm completed a remarkable fightback by Quins.
An uneventful first quarter came alive in the 17th minute when Wasps attacked from a lineout and were rewarded by crossing several phases later.
Drives from Haskell and Jake Cooper-Woolley sent Quins backwards before quick hands by Willie le Roux and Thomas Young enabled Kyle Eastmond to accelerate over the whitewash.
Wasps struck for a second time three minutes later when Care and the superb James Lang spilt the ball between them, enabling a counter-attack that saw Nizaam Carr run 60 metres to cross.
Both tries had been scored with Quins prop Lewis Boyce in the sin-bin for tackling Ashley Johnson without the ball and it was the Wasps hooker who touched down for the third.
Route one was the path over the line this time, Joe Launchbury catching the line-out ball as the prelude to a drive that ended when Johnson grounded the ball.
Quins took advantage of a broken field to begin their response, Lang punting ahead for Ross Chisholm to win the foot race and score.
The match was now finely poised and when Care set-off from a fivemetre scrum, delaying his pass for Lang to skip over, the home side were over for a second.
Quins’ fightback was interrupted 14 minutes after halftime and once again a line-out provided the platform for their undoing.
Young carried into the heart of the defence and with gaps appearing out wide Danny Cipriani was able to send Brendan Macken through a gap to seal the bonus point.
Pressure continued through a succession of short-range drives that were completed when Care burrowed over.
All the momentum was with Harlequins with fly-half Marcus Smith orchestrating play brilliantly. They claimed their fourth try that started with Tim Visser’s break and finished when Smith sent Elia over.
And Wasps’ fate was sealed when Chisholm drove across the line with seconds to spare to send the home fans wild.