Willis leads the way in Wasps’ late onslaught

Wasps backed up their impressive victory over Saracens by ending London Irish’s three-game winning run, with the visitors’ superiority at the breakdown laying the foundations for a morale-boosting result.

The victory moves Wasps into the top six, two games after parting ways with director of rugby, Dai Young. London Irish had led 14-3 at one stage in the first half, but Wasps’ prowess over the ball, in particular through Jack Willis, proved to be a decisive advantage.

Irish recently impressed with wins over Northampton, Harlequins and Gloucester, but they had no answer when it came to stopping the excellent Willis, with Dan Robson, England’s forgotten man at scrum-half, running the show.

“Jack is unbelievably flexible and it’s also his determination. He sticks his head where most people worry about sticking their feet. I think his all-round game is getting better,” said interim head coach Lee Blackett. “We are starting to see Dan return to the form we know he is capable of. Off the field he is getting used to his leadership role.”

Declan Kidney, the Irish director of rugby, admitted that his side had been outclassed at the breakdown. “Wasps were full value for their win,” Kidney said. “They gave us a lesson at the breakdown.”

Ben Meehan and Ben Loader tries put Irish in the ascendancy, before Biyi Alo squeezed over the line for Wasps to leave them trailing 14-10 at the break.

Ben Harris then gave Wasps the lead for the first time, before Matt Rogerson’s try made it 19-17 heading into the final quarter. From there Wasps blew Irish away, with tries from Marcus Watson, Robson and Jacob Umaga, before Irish managed a bonus-point try via Motu Matu’u.