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Young Alfie Barbeary to the fore as Wasps see off 14-man Montpellier
Wasps took advantage of a seventh-minute red card for Henry Immelman of Montpellier to record the second bonus-point win of their Heineken Champions Cup campaign with a 33-14 victory. Alfie Barbeary scored two of Wasps’ five tries, with James Gaskell, Paolo Odogwu and Charlie Atkinson also touching down, while Jimmy Gopperth added three conversions and Atkinson one.
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Wasps had rested internationals Dan Robson, Joe Launchbury, Jack Willis and Will Rowlands in the wake of last week’s comfortable victory over Dragons. However, helped by Immelman’s dismissal, they still had enough strength to secure another five points.
Alex Lozowski and Yvan Reilhac scored Montpellier’s tries, with Benoit Paillaugue converting both after they suffered an early setback when full-back Immelman was sent off for a high challenge on Will Porter. They should have still taken an early lead only for Paillaugue to miss the target with a straightforward penalty.
Two minutes later, Paillaugue had another simple opportunity but again fired wide before Gopperth had his chance only to also miss with an attempt from 35 metres.
A @WaspsRugby try which started with a kick pass from Alfie Barbeary! ?????
Josh Bassett makes the ground and Tom Cruse with the pivotal offload ?#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/wR4y7ZNRSO
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) December 18, 2020
Neither side threatened the try line in a disjointed first quarter which finished scoreless before the French side received another blow when fly-half Louis Foursans was helped off with a leg injury. Wasps were slow in getting their game together, but it seemed only a matter of time before their numerical advantage would tell and they took the lead in the 23rd minute when Barbeary finished off a succession of forward drives to crash over.
Playing with the wind, the visitors had the better of the first half-hour in terms of possession and territory but against the run of play Wasps scored their second try. Inside the hosts’ 22, Montpellier lost possession, allowing the home side to break away, with Gaskell running in from 25 metres after a well-timed pass from Tom Cruse.
The visitors deserved something for their spirited efforts and were rewarded when Lozowski seized a loose ball to outpace the cover defence, with Paillaugue’s conversion leaving his side trailing 12-7 at the interval. Six minutes after the restart, Montpellier took the lead when replacement Reilhac raced over after a number of forward drives had sucked in the Wasps’ defence.
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However, the lead only lasted two minutes as Odogwu darted in under the posts after a ?neat off-load from Barbeary had put the centre in the clear. The outstanding Barbeary scored his second as Montpellier could not stop the powerhouse from close range, but the number eight then blotted his copybook by being yellow carded for a deliberate off-side.
The visitors could not capitalise on Barbeary’s absence, so Wasps had the final stay when Atkinson dummied his way over in the final minute.
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Ref's centre of attention again twelve days after England vs France Autumn Nations Cup final #HeinekenChampionsCuphttps://t.co/5Z6PEFaa5V
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 18, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
No surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
9 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
9 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
9 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
9 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
9 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
2 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to comments