Wasps sizzle in drizzle as they win cup opener

SPARKED by excellent displays from Nizaam Carr and Brendan Macken, Wasps got their Anglo-Welsh Cup campaign underway with an entertaining bonus point win over Ospreys at a drizzly Liberty Stadium.

After racing into a 19-point lead after 20 minutes, Wasps allowed their hosts back into the match through an indisciplined second quarter before pulling away with an emphatic second half performance.

They claimed five tries through TJ Harris, Guy Armitage, Carr and a Macken brace, to which the hosts responded through Reuben MorganWilliam and Ifan Phillips.

This was Wasps’ first win over Ospreys, and although the cross-border competition now takes a break until February, it sends Dai Young’s team back to Premiership action against Newcastle at the Ricoh Arena next Saturday in good heart.

Both scrum halves made early breaks, but neither Craig Hampson nor Morgan-Williams were able to locate their support.

Wasps’ South African loan star Carr made a lively start to his debut, and played an important part in the visitors’ opening try.

The powerhouse No.8 transferred the ball smartly back to hooker Harris at the front of the lineout, to enable the Barkers Butts’ product to scoot to the corner.

And the visitors extended their advantage seconds later when Macken anticipated a long pass in the hosts’ midfield and raced to the posts.

Connor Eastgate added the conversion, and the Scotland international No.10 was on the mark again shortly before the end of the opening quarter, when a superb move following a lineout turnover ended with Armitage sliding over.

The only blot on the black-andgold horizon at this point was their high penalty count, and this enabled the hosts to battle their way back into the game during the second quarter.

The men-in-black opened their account with a close-range snipe from Morgan-Williams, after the visitors were caught napping by goalkicker Luke Price’s quick tap.

The home fly half added the extras, after which referee Christophe Ridley finally lost patience with the visitors’ indiscipline, and despatched Paul Doran-Jones to the sinbin.

This enabled the hosts to add a second try from a lineout drive, touched down by hooker Phillips.

As a result, Wasps held a 19-12 interval advantage, which a powerful scrum shunt enabled Carr to extend with his first try in a Wasps shirt.

Eastgate added the conversion, then three points when Ospreys infringed in front of their own posts following Marcus Garratt’s carry.

Baker then picked off a loose pass in midfield and raced 60m upfield before being nailed by a superb Owain James tackle.

And after a series of close-range thrusts Wasps sealed the win when replacement scrum half Joe Simpson sent Macken under the posts for a score which Eastgate upgraded.

This gave the final scoreline a more emphatic slant, which was welldeserved based on a second-half display which combined powerful scrummaging with much improved discipline and some powerful ball carries. named an experimental XI for the Wembley friendly against Germany.

Pickford benefited from Jack Butland’s broken finger to take his place in goal, Loftus-Cheek lined up in midfield and Abraham partnered Jamie Vardy up front.

That takes the number of debutants under Southgate to 11 in 13 games, with Eric Dier his sixth different captain.

Germany were without the star power of Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller but still named a formidable side.

Bayern Munich’s Mats Hummels captained, with Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger and Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil also lining up alongside Manchester City pair Ilkay Gundogan and Leroy Sane.

Referee Pawel Raczkowski had access to VAR technology, a first for England at Wembley, and both sides will wear black armbands bearing poppies ahead of Remembrance Sunday.