‘Penalty calls harsh, but we must learn...’

WASPS were ‘harshly done to’ with some of the penalty awards in their agonising defeat to Gloucester.

That is the view of head coach Lee Blackett who also conceded his side must learn their lessons if they are to turnaround their wretched run of recent form.

Despite playing 43 minutes of the match against 14 men following Ollie Thorley’s red card and leading with three minutes to play, Billy Twevetrees’ kick from distance inflicted a fifth defeat in six games on last year’s defeated Premiership finalists.

The 77th minute three-pointer was the fourteenth and final penalty Wasps conceded in the match, adding to the 50 they shipped across their three previous Gallagher Premiership games.

The thing we’ve spoken most about recently is our discipline and we have to learn. We have to learn or else we’re just not going to win Premiership games.

“You can’t give that many penalties away and win Premiership games, it just won’t happen,” said Blackett. “It’s not acceptable and we’ll just take a good hard look at ourselves and exactly what we do.

“Staff will take a good hard look at ourselves during the week and players and we’ve got to look at those and we’ve just got to learn.”

Wasps spent ten minutes reduced to 14 men when Malakai Fekitoa was sin-binned shortly after Thorley’s dismissal but saw their momentum stifled by a variety of infringements that were spotted by referee Matt Carley and his team of officials.

Blackett stressed the offences Wasps are committing have been highlighted to players, but added the footage from this game could make for troublesome viewing.

“We’re showing the penalties every week,” he said. “Having said that, it’s going to be hard to show because I think we were pretty harshly done to, I think there’s a fair few today I would’ve said that.

“But having said that, we must be giving ourselves this image that we’re ill-disciplined because referees seem to be pinging us off the park.”

Wasps trailed by 17 points at the break but fought back to lead by two before Twelvetrees inflicted agony late on.

“I thought second half we were loads better at the start and then I felt like we just gave a couple of penalties away, a little bit at the set-piece,” explained Blackett.

“We’re just struggling at the moment to build pressure.”