A team bring Christmas cheer!
Wasps A provided some pre-Christmas cheer by defeating Sale Jets 28-17 at Broadstreet RFC on Monday night. Tries from Josh Bassett, Gaby Oghre, Sam Wolstenhome and Anjo Ademuwagun earned a bonus point Premiership Shield win against a visiting side that included England international Marland Yarde – who took his chance registering two tries. Our Wasps reporter BOBBY BRIDGE was at the game and here are his talking points from the match... BASSETT’S REMINDER
A little over six months ago, Josh Bassett had the red rose of England on his chest and was a try scorer in the 51-43 victory over the Barbarians.
Fast forward 29 weeks on from that uncapped international in front of a big Twickenham Stadium crowd, the long-serving winger was jogging out under the floodlights on a Monday night, before a couple of hundred fans for Wasps’ second team.
From the offset it was clear to see the scorer of 45 tries in 112 senior Wasps appearances wasn’t sulking about falling down the pecking order, he was bang up for this challenge.
Inside the first minute he came in off his wing and profited from Gaby Oghre’s break to receive the ball, pin back his ears back and score under the posts.
Soon afterwards, his was the loudest cheer on the pitch when Wasps won a scrum penalty and he remained on the field throughout, even switching to centre for a period, despite receiving medical attention on a couple of occasions. Having played more league minutes than any of his team mates last term – he’s appeared in less than a third of the available Gallagher Premiership minutes this term, missing out on the squad entirely for the last four rounds.
Bassett certainly staked his claim for a recall, but tomorrow night’s trip to Bristol may come too soon for him.
SIGN OF SOLIDARITY
Not for the first time this year, there has been a strong showing of solidarity and support from the Wasps senior squad for a Premiership Shield game.
Present in the stands at Broadstreet RFC were Dan Robson, Juan de Jongh, Brad Shields, Zach Kibirige, Thomas Young and Will Rowlands, to name a few. There’s plenty of gloom about at Wasps given the early exit from Europe and five defeats suffered in six league games so far, but this was a really encouraging sign.
Rob Miller and Bassett are big characters in the squad and I’m sure being present to watch them boot up was a motivation, but also to see how the next generation of players currently in the Academy set-up are progressing.
It was a strong indication that the bond within the squad remains tight, which bodes well for that turning around in the new year and the remaining 16 league games.
On a similar theme, owner Derek Richardson was also on hand to watch Wasps A. The Irishman has invested more than £18m of his own money into the club and was living every moment of the game. How many other club owners do that?
SENIOR STARS STAND UP
The senior players in the Wasps A team all performed well. As we mentioned earlier, Bassett was a try scorer and played a key part in the victory.
Fullback Owain James showcased his electric pace on both sides of the ball and doesn’t shirk a tackle. He did his chances of forcing his way into the first-team no harm at all but he may have to bide his time.
Jeff Toomaga-Allen played his part in a strong scrummaging display and showed some encouraging signs with his link up play and will benefit from another run out as he tries to force his way back into the Premiership picture. Was replaced 11 minutes into the second half.
Rob Miller pulled the strings well at fly-half, just as he did during his spell in the 10 shirt earlier in the year for the first team. He kicked all of his conversions and just doesn’t look like a fullback playing out of position, he looks like a 10.
Scrum-half Sam Wolstenhome scored a sniping try from the base of a close-range ruck, along with kicking and distributing solidly. In Will Porter and Wolstenhome, Dan Robson has a couple of hungry competitors for his shirt while Ben Vellacott, who was also present for the game, continues his rehabilitation from reconstructive ACL surgery.
Hooker Gaby Oghre captained the team having overcome the chest infection that ruled him out of the heavy loss to Worcester Cavaliers last week and put in a leader’s performance, scoring a try, carrying regularly and offering bite in the tackle. He also played on the back row, even when seemingly carrying a knock. Ben Morris, playing in the second row, weighed in with some eye-catching ferocious tackles and showed his back row pedigree at the breakdown. His lock partner, Theo Vukasinovic, stole a lovely lineout in the first half and went the distance, aside from a ten-minute rest when he was yellow carded along with Sale’s Valery Mozorov.
BARBEARY IS BACK
Alfie Barbeary, remember him? His form for England U18s earned him a shot at World Rugby U20 Championship ahead of schedule earlier this year. It didn’t end well for the young hooker, receiving a red card just minutes after coming on as a substitute against Ireland. England, who were trailing by two points at that stage, went on to lose 42-26.
A further setback arrived when he suffered a knee injury while out on loan at Championship club Nottingham. On Monday night, he made his return in Black and Gold in the 49th minute and immediately made an impact with some shuddering hits and one rampaging carry. Sadly, he suffered an injury four minutes before the end when chasing his own chip ahead. The way he pulled up looked more like a hamstring complaint rather than a flare up of his knee issue. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious.
WILL POWER
There was a strong Academy presence in the squad and among them was Will Wilson. The 22-yearold former England Sevens player, who captained Wasps in the Premiership Sevens this season, has been on loan at Cornish Pirates and packed down at number eight. It appears to have been a good move for the back row. His physicality and workrate marked him out in a strong showing from the Wasps A pack.
CHRISTMAS CHEER
Finally, it was nice to experience a win! Many die-hard fans had smiles on their faces and a spring in their step having witnessed a Wasps win, albeit in the Premiership Shield.