Northern Edition
Select Edition
Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Wasps set existential angst aside to claim victory at Bath

By PA

Wasps temporarily put their off-field troubles to one side as they ended a fraught week by beating Gallagher Premiership opponents Bath 39-31 at the Recreation Ground.

ADVERTISEMENT

Bath finished bottom of the Premiership last term, yet they pushed Wasps to the limit, threatening to wipe out a 29-point deficit through an outstanding second-half display, but the visitors held on.

Wasps went into the game after filing a notice of their intention to appoint an administrator with the High Court.

Video Spacer

Video Spacer

They are being pursued for unpaid tax and have been served with a winding-up order by HM Revenue and Customs, while Wasps are also having difficulty in repaying a £35million bond that was raised to help finance their relocation from High Wycombe to Coventry eight years ago.

While confident they will secure the finance needed to prevent administration, failure to do so could result in automatic relegation from the Premiership.

Against that backdrop, though, Wasps defied the odds as they stormed ahead through first-half tries from wing Josh Bassett, flanker Jack Willis and scrum-half Will Porter.

 

 

Bath Rugby v Wasps - Gallagher Premiership - The Recreation Ground

ADVERTISEMENT

 

Jacob Umaga kicked four penalties and two conversions, with Bath’s sole response being a Matt Gallagher try that Orlando Bailey converted.

Wasps secured a bonus point midway through the third quarter when Bassett collected his second try, and Bath looked down and out.

But a Tom Dunn try double and Jonathan Joseph touchdown, with Bailey adding one conversion and Piers Francis two, set up a pulsating finish, before Francis and Umaga kicked late penalties.

Dunn captained Bath in the absence of scrum-half Ben Spencer, who suffered concussion during last weekend’s home defeat against Sale Sharks, with full-back Tom de Glanville ruled out by a hamstring issue.

ADVERTISEMENT

Umaga returned from injury to line up at full-back for Wasps, while Francois Hougaard featured on the wing and hooker Dan Frost gained a first start of the season.

Wasps absorbed early Bath pressure as the home side looked to bounce back from losing to 14-man Sale, before moving into their stride as Umaga kicked an 11th-minute penalty.

Umaga doubled Wasps’ advantage through a second penalty three minutes later, but both sides suffered injury blows midway through the first-half.

Bath flanker Chris Cloete, a summer signing from Munster, limped off to be replaced by Josh Bayliss, while Hougaard also exited early, with Zach Kibirige taking over.

Wasps claimed the game’s opening try 15 minutes before half-time, and it was an outstanding team score, started by centre Sam Spink’s half-break and ended when Bassett finished brilliantly after gathering Umaga’s floated pass.

Alarm bells were ringing for Bath, but they had even more to worry about as Wasps scored from their next attack, creating intense close-range pressure before Willis touched down and Umaga converted.

 

Bath Rugby v Wasps - Gallagher Premiership - The Recreation Ground

And a third try in five minutes arrived after slick approach between Umaga and centre Burger Odendaal saw Porter sprint clear to score. Umaga’s conversion made it 25-0.

Bath managed a response before the break through a smart finish by Gallagher, and Bailey added the extras, but Umaga booted two more penalties to give Wasps a 24-point interval advantage.

Bath’s misery showed no sign of abating, with scrum-half Louis Schreuder yellow-carded for illegally preventing Wasps from taking a quick penalty.

And as Bath struggled to regroup, relentless pressure was rewarded through a second try for Bassett, putting the visitors seemingly out of sight.

Dunn crashed over for a second Bath try, converted by Bailey, and after Willis was sin-binned for a high tackle, a third home try arrived for Joseph before Dunn claimed his second touchdown.

A Francis penalty brought Bath to just five points adrift after they punished Willis’ indiscretion, yet Wasps had just enough in the tank as Umaga’s late three-pointer sealed it.

ADVERTISEMENT
LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JW 37 minutes ago
Three former All Blacks assess the playing style adopted against France

Yep Wilson at least does a lot of such research but I think it’s only when it revolves around the All Blacks etc, like he go and find out why Ireland whipped our butt etc, and come back with a view we need to imrpove and do x y z like such and such is.


But none of them are individuals that are a) any sort of quality coach/analyst of the game (NPC the highest), or b) seem to consume stupids amount of rugby for the love of it like people in a similar profession in other top leagues. Johnson is probably the only one I would say comes close to that but is a pure fan, I don’t think he has any pro knowledge.


To be fair to them, the best in say soccer or american football would get paid a hundred times what these guys do, but it’s so hard in those markets that all panelists have to be students of the game just to get a shot. And in the case of Beaver, he is like the Ian Smith of cricket, he’s a knowledgable gu, enough to lead people down the wrong track (they would believe him), but they’re both very obvious in their more parochial opinions that you know to take what Beavers saying with a grain of salt. Wilson, Marshall, and even Mils go off like they think theyre the bees knees,


Admittedly things are changing globably, i’ve glimpsed enough football shows to know the Britsih media are happy, and the fans too soaking it up, getting the most high profile ex players on a show as the best way to increase ratings.

13 Go to comments
J
JW 1 hour ago
Beauden Barrett weighs in on controversial yellow card

It’s an interesting question because a normal diberate knock on is just a penalty offense, an normal infringement like any other, so that’s deemed where the was not a reasonable chance to catch the ball.


But it’s a ruling that can also be upgraded to a foul, and by association, a yellow card, when it’s it was also deliberately trying to deny the ball to another player. For instance, that is why they are just given penalties up the field, because the player has just made a bad decision (one where he had no reasonable chance) and he doesn’t really care if the pass had gone to hand for his opponents or not (he was just thinking about being a hero etc).


So the way the refs have been asked to apply the law is to basically just determine whether there was an overlap (and not to try and guess what the player was actually thinking) or not, as to whether it’s a penalty or a YC.


This is the part Barrett doesn’t like, he’s essentially saying “but I had no idea whether they were likely to score or not (whether there was an unmarked man), so how can you tell me I was deliberately trying to prevent it going to someone, it could have been a blind pass to no one”.


It’s WR trying to make it clear cut for fans and refs, if at the players expense.

But yes, also you must think it entirely possible given both were foul plays that they could both go to the bench. Much the same as we see regularly when even though the play scores a try, they have started sending the player off still.


And while I agree Narawa didn’t knock it on, I think the ball did go forward, just off the shoulder. As his hands were up in the air, above the ball, basically like a basketball hope over his right shoulder, I guess you’re right in that if it did make contact with his hands it would have had to be deflected backwards onto his shoulder etc. Looking at the replay, Le Garrec clearly lost control of the ball forward too, but because Barrett was deemed to have committed a deliberate act, that overrides the knockon from 9.


I just don’t understand how they can consider it a deliberate attempt to block a pass when he actually lost the ball forward!

45 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Rassie Erasmus' 'sad' verdict on Jasper Wiese's latest red card 'It's sad': The Rassie Erasmus verdict on Jasper Wiese's latest red ca