DAN’S LATE DECIDER
It’s another nailbiting finish for Wasps as they leapfrog Toulouse with a game to go
YOU wouldn’t want to be of a nervous disposition as a Wasps fan. For the third time in four Champions Cup games Dai Young’s men left it until the very last minute before the outcome was decided.
For many in the crowd it was agonising to watch. After letting victory slip from their grasp against Connacht before Christmas, Wasps were the victors this time as replacement scrum-half Dan Robson took a quick tap penalty and wriggled under Richie Gray’s attempted tackle to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
For the second game running against four-time champions Toulouse, Young’s team inflicted a dagger blow in the dying minute. In October, at the Stade Ernest Wallon, Nathan Hughes’ last-gasp try, converted by Jimmy Gopperth, earned them a draw.
Here, in front of 17,248 at the Ricoh Arena, Wasps went one better as Robson’s quick-thinking claimed an outrageous victory that lifted them into second place in Pool 2.
Victory at underpowered Italian minnows Zebre next Sunday will ensure they qualify for the knockout stages of a tournament they have serious hopes of winning but they know they will have to improve.
Victory was achieved with Danny Cipriani in the sin bin for apparently entering a ruck from the side as Vasil Kakovin attempted to touch down for a try, which led referee John Lacey to award a penalty try.
It was just one of a litany of calls made by Lacey which left the vast majority inside the stadium — on both sides — scratching their head.
Wasps director of rugby Dai Young said: ‘I think he gave it [yellow card] for coming in at the side but he didn’t even enter the maul. I thought it was the wrong decision to be quite honest. Probably one of many.’
Cipriani’s sin-binning summed up an exasperating performance by the referee, who seemed intent on penalising the ball-carrying side while allowing all manner of chaos at the breakdown.
Young added: ‘I don’t want to criticise referees because it’s a difficult job and you have got to adapt to the game, but you could pretty much do what you like in the contact area.’ With only eight minutes on the clock, it seemed Lacey’s call would sink a Wasps side that should have put the game to bed in the first half but butchered two chances to score when Kurtley Beale and Josh Bassett were guilty of profligacy with the try-line beckoning.
Young said: ‘We’ve got to be honest with ourselves. If we produce as many clear line breaks as we did we have got to nail them. You’re not going to produce that many line breaks in real big games and win.
‘[With] a couple of them it looked harder not to score than to score. I said that to the players. I think they were a bit surprised but if we keep leaving it that late the law of averages says we’ll come unstuck.
‘The players were a little bit surprised by my reaction after the match because I wasn’t jumping up and down.
‘I’m pleased that we won and you always take that, but we need to look at our lack of composure and patience in their 22.
“When you look at the games, we shouldn’t be in those positions and that’s really starting to get under my skin a bit.
‘I’m really pleased that we found a way to win. We showed a lot of team spirit and scored points when we had a player in the sin-bin.
Young’s frustration at beating a Toulouse outfit that may not be the force it once was but still possesses enough quality to pose a very serious threat, is testament to the progress the club have made in recent years.
Transformed from a club on the brink of bankruptcy to one with serious European aspirations, they have quality operators throughout their backline while their pack is also improving, although their scrum was again under pressure here.
Yoann Huget’s try had put Toulouse 7-3 in front after 53 minutes before Christian Wade was, correctly this time, shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Francois Cros.
Elliot Daly then produced a moment of individual brilliance to scoot over from 45 metres when he stepped inside and then out to leave Thierry Dusautoir flailing, only for Lacey to award a penalty try which looked to have sunk the home side. Robson had other ideas and Young’s men live to fight another day.
They must improve to stand a chance of winning this tournament, no doubt. But one thing is for sure, it will be fun to watch. Expect it to go down to the wire.
They will be beefed up by next weekend if, as expected, James haskell returns, while Daly is improving following his return from the suspension he received for a red card playing for England against Argentina last autumn.