Wasps 25 Leicester 9
I have been privileged to attend the European cup final in rugby today and see my team beat the all-conquering Leicester Tigers. So, croaking voice, sun burnt and post adrenaline drowsiness kicking in, I have decided to post my thoughts.Perhaps it was a day of omens? The railways have only forced me to drive to Bedford, and last time they did, Wasps won the European cup. So armed with that snippet of useless information, me and my fellow travellers sped south. Selected fans of English cricket, Leicester Tigers and Morecambe (!) arrived to find St Pancras had been moved about half a mile from the tube. progress, eh?
A day forecast of showers, saw me smartly bring a waterproofed fleece to supplement my t-shirt. i would be the snug smiling one amongst the thousands of sodden fans today! Except I have found God tends to have a sense of humour, which is why I have an angry red v below my neckline, courtesy of Apollo.
The story of the journey is one of little beer, lots of queuing and painting myself with South African barbecue sauce. So, I was pleased when we finally settled down to some rugby!
From the start, Wasps had a mission. They took the game to the Tigers offering physical resistance to a team deservedly crowned premiership champions only the week before, after an annihilation of Gloucester.
Wasps had the upper hand and took an early lead from King's penalty.
Tigers responded quickly through Andy Goode. Their metronome kicker, reminiscent of Life on Mars, DCI Hunt. I always imagine every time he has the ball, he's yelling to his colleagues 'Are you coming or what, Dorothy?'
Then, the breakthrough. The teams lined up for a line out, close to the Tigers line. Wasps took a quick underhand throw to the front and scrum-half Reddan, snapped up an easy ball, speeding to the line to score. Conversion missed, pressure still on.
DCI Goode, still bereft of his passing hands, kicked a simple penalty and then Wasps were back. Another line out, another quickie, a one-two between Shaw an Inbanez and the French hooker was over 13-6. A conversion and a penalty miss followed and we were up at half time, but not safe.
The second half was one of invention, defence and inspiration from all the Wasps team. Old with new. Experienced Ibanez packed down with French on only his second ever start. man of match Waters, proved too much for the Tigers attack, ably supported by the 19yo full-back Cipriani. Ably supported by the whole of the team, including Sackey who showed his mettle effectively wrapping up the legend that was Tuigalani.
In the end, the Tigers ran out of steam. Two scores down, they camped on the Wasps 25, but a loose scrum was used by Haskell, whose 60 m break led to a prolonged period on the Tigers line and a penalty eagerly tucked away by King, confidence restored after some earlier penalty and drop goals. three scores down, it was only time before the whistle went and the underdogs had triumphed again.
I was there when Howley capped an ambitious chip and chase with an impossible touch down. This was sweeter. When Wasps won the first time , it was a game they really should have lost. Here they never looked back from the kick-off.
Oh and from a writing perspective, I got a draft first 5 mins of a radio play for a competition to go with my 1,000 word stories that I sent off recently. All in all, a good day at the office.
posted by Geraint @ 9:47 pm
0 comments
