Harlequins make perfect start to post-Gustard era by swatting Wasps
Wasps’ impressive run of five consecutive wins came to an abrupt halt as they were blown away by Harlequins at the Ricoh Arena, losing 49-17.
Quins surprisingly parted company with head of rugby Paul Gustard less than a fortnight ago but newly-appointed interim boss Billy Millard saw a rejuvenated side produce an impressive performance in his first game in charge.
Wasps missed the chance to rise to third in the Gallagher Premiership table as they were second best in almost every area in a rare lacklustre effort.
Will Evans, Danny Care, Alex Dombrandt, Louis Lynagh and James Lang scored Harlequins’ tries. A penalty try was also awarded, while man of the match Marcus Smith kicked three penalties and four conversions.
Zach Kibirige and Tom Willis scored tries for Wasps and Jimmy Gopperth converted both, with Lima Sopoaga adding a penalty.
Quins took a sixth-minute lead through a try from Evans.
Skilful play from Mike Brown and Aaron Morris took the visitors into the opposition 22 from where they exerted a period of pressure before the flanker forced his way over from close range.
Smith converted before kicking a penalty to reward his side’s early dominance as Wasps – without key men Joe Launchbury, Jack Willis and Dan Robson – struggled to gain a foothold in the match.
It therefore came as no surprise when rampant Quins extended their lead with an excellent try.
A well-timed pass sent Lynagh away down the right flank and the wing ran strongly to evade some weak tackling for the supporting Care to score.
Wasps’ nightmare start continued when prop Simon McIntyre was forced to leave the field with an injury before Smith extended the visitors’ lead to 20 points with a second penalty.
Despite increasing their share of possession, the home side’s attacks appeared pedestrian with only wing Kibirige troubling the Quins’ defence, so Wasps, who had averaged 34 points per game in their last five matches, finished the first half with just a 40th-minute penalty from Sopoaga to their name.
Forty seconds after the restart, Wasps’ woes continued when their captain Thomas Young was led off after receiving lengthy treatment following a collision with Brown.
Within minutes of Young’s departure, their opponents built up an unassailable lead when Dombrandt finished off a driving line-out.
Wasps’ backs continued to be clueless in attack and it took until the 59th minute for them to score their first try when a series of forward rumbles sucked in the defence to provide Kibirige with a walk-in.
Gopperth converted from the touchline but Smith kicked a long-range penalty before Lynagh intercepted a telegraphed pass from Jacob Umaga to race away for the bonus point try.
The game was up for Wasps but they gained some respectability with a close-range try from Tom Willis.
However replacement Lang raced 45 metres to score before a late penalty try award for collapsing a maul further emphasised Quins’ superiority.
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments