La Rochelle maintain winning streak after 49-29 win over Wasps
Elliot Daly was one of Wasps' tryscorers in their defeat to La Rochelle
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La Rochelle 49-29 Wasps, Stade Marcel-Deflandre
Scorecard
Lepani Botia Veivuke and Vincent Rattez scored doubles as La Rochelle claimed their third straight win of the European Champions Cup with a 49-29 triumph over Wasps at Stade Marcel-Deflandre.
Wasps had a struggling start to the game as they lost Thomas Young to sin-bin in the sixth minute for a tip tackle and fly-half Brock James kicked a penalty to take La Rochelle to 3-0.
The visitors' reaction was superb as a beautifully-constructed back-line move off the back of a scrum on the home 22 opened up a hole for full-back Rob Miller to run in the opening try in the 10th minute.
Before Young could return from the sin-bin, La Rochelle managed two tries - one each from Pierre Aguillon and Pierre Bourgarit in the 11th and 16th minutes respectively while a double conversion from James made it 17-5 at the end of the first quarter.
Shortly after returning to the field, Young made slight amends for his yellow card by supporting a blindside raid by Dan Robson to score a try in the left corner that Jimmy Gopperth converted to cut the gap to five points and put his side back in the contest. However, Botia Veivuke went past the line for the first time in the game in the 25th minute to restore La Rochelle's 12 point lead.
Wasps' comeback was jolted by a sin-bin to Juan de Jongh in the 36th minute and James kicked penalties on either side as La Rochelle went into half time with a 30-12 lead.
There were six more tries in an equally explosive second half, with Wasps picking up three of them to snatch a bonus point. New French wing Vincent Rattez grabbed two for the rampant home side and Botia ended the game with a 30-metre pick-and-go try from a ruck.
Young's brilliant pass out of a tackle set up Elliot Daly for his corner try and then Joe Simpson popped up in support of Daly, after the England wing had taken a neat chip ahead by Danny Cipriani, to race in the all-important fourth try.
Replacement prop Will Stuart got his first try for the club six minutes from time with a driving line-out score to put his side in touching distance of a potential losing bonus point, but Botia's late sprint put paid to that.
