Wasps 37-10 Newport Gwent Dragons
Wasps went to the top of their Heineken Cup pool and did their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages the power of good today, lifting their game after a scrappy first 40 minutes to beat the Dragons with three tries in eight minutes.
They took a bonus point for scoring four tries in all and the bonus for England was that Riki Flutey, playing his first 20 minutes of rugby since October, had a hand in two of them. Wasps look set for a final day shoot-out for the pool with Toulouse, whose match against Glasgow has been postponed until Tuesday.
Wasps have now picked up three bonus points from four games, giving them an excellent chance of qualifying as one of the two best runners-up if Toulouse, who have won the competition four times, win at Adams Park in late January.
Today France's European champions postponed their game against Glasgow for a second time. It had been delayed from Saturday after the Scots were late arriving; it was postponed when their kit failed to arrive at all.
At High Wycombe the go-ahead was given three hours before kick-off. Only two stands were opened and the car park was out of bounds, so only pedestrians were allowed in. Those few brave souls who made it must have spent the first half wondering why they had bothered as both sides struggled to get to grips with a pitch made tricky by a combination of under-soil heating and melting slush.
Players scrambled to keep their feet and those who did fumbled away the ball. Neither side managed to exert any control but Matthew Jones kicked the Dragons into an early lead which Wasps kept to three points only by tireless tackling ? they made 35 in the first 11 minutes.
The Wasps wing Tom Varndell did show what was possible, skipping and side-stepping past half a dozen defenders, but it was two minutes to half-time before the European champions of 2004 and 2007 had their first shot at goal. Dave Walder missed it. He levelled the scores a minute later but the half-time chat in the Wasps dressing room would still have been interesting, if only because it had such a remarkable effect.
The Wasps scrum, which had been a mess, suddenly started to exert itself; the forwards began mauling their way up field; and the backs found it was possible to hang on to a pass. His confidence rising, Walder kicked deep into Dragons territory before setting up the first try with a dummy which bought so much time and space in midfield that David Lemi looked certain to go over in the left corner. The little Samoan wing fell short but the big boys were close at hand and Joe Worsley drove the hooker Joe Ward over the line. Walder converted for a 13-3 lead.
The fly-half kicked 17 points, missing only that first attempt all frozen afternoon, but it was the Flutey cameo that caught the eye. Almost his first touch put Mark van Gisbergen in the corner, to suggest that a bonus point might be possible. The England and Lions centre showed he could conjure up the kind of magic Wasps have been missing.
The week before in Wales they had won, according to their director of rugby, Tony Hanks, by playing ugly. Today they repeated that dose for more than 40 minutes before Flutey turned defence into attack, releasing Nic Berry 40 metres out with a peach of a pass. The replacement scrum-half chipped ahead, had a bit of luck with the bounce and put Varndell over the line. Berry was then gifted a try of his own on the back of yet another massive Wasps scrum.
The Dragons pack went backwards at such a rate that the Wasps No8, Will Matthews ? in for Andy Powell, who failed a fitness test ? struggled to control the ball before executing a delightful offload. Berry was home untouched. Wasps were still celebrating the bonus point when, far too late to make a difference, Aled Brew scored the Dragons' only try.
London Wasps Van Gisbergen; Varndell, Jacobs, Kefu (Flutey, 60), Lemi; Walder, Simpson (Berry, 67); Taulafo, Ward, Broster (Baker, 68), Shaw, Cannon, Worsley (Veale, 70), Betsen, Matthews (S Jones, 77).
Tries Ward, Van Gisbergen, Varndell, Berry Cons Walder 4 Pens Walder 3.
Newport Gwent Dragons Harries; Hughes (Cheeseman, 75), Riley, Smith (capt), A Brew; M Jones, W Evans (Leadbeater, 71), Gustafson, S Jones (Burns, 54), Castle (Palmer, 74), Charteris (Sidoli, ht), Morgan, L Evans, G Thomas, Faletau (Lydiate, 51).
Try A Brew Con M Jones Pen M Jones.
Referee C Berdos (France) Attendance 1,236.
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