Leicester Tigers 21 -12 Wasps
Saturday 19 February 2011
Leicester Tigers extended their lead at the top of the Aviva Premiership to ten points with a 21-12 win against rivals London Wasps at Welford Road.
Tries from Jeremy Staunton and Steve Mafi meant that Shaun Edwards' start as Head Coach of the Wasps would end in misery.
Leicester dominated the game throughout and were never really threatened by the Londoners who must be commended for their brave defensive display.
Edwards' side must have been quietly confident coming into the match having picked up two wins from their last three visits and narrowly beating the Tigers 37-30 at Adams Park in September.
However, Wasps failed to establish themselves in the line-out and as a result found it difficult to build upon set-pieces when they did opt for territory.
Leicester were looking solid with Manu Tuilagi showing why Martin Johnson is keeping a close eye on him and Captain Craig Newby worked tirelessly to keep up the pressure up in the forwards.
Newby was replaced on 56 minutes by England flanker Tom Croft, who made a welcome return after three months out. His last game was in November against South Africa when he fractured his shoulder.
The Game
Staunton gave the Tigers an early lead after French flanker Serge Betsen was penalised for a late hit. Leicester Tigers 3 -0 Wasps
Wasps replied immediately with a penalty of their own, Dave Walder kicking the first of his 12 points in the game. Leicester Tigers 3 -3 Wasps
Then England's Joe Worsley applied enough pressure to catch the Tigers holding on and the Wasps took an unlikely lead.
But failure by Wasps to clean up at the restart immediately sparked pressure and when Walder threw a wide pass inside his own half, Staunton pounced with an interception that saw him under the posts to convert his own try to make it Leicester Tigers 10 -6 Wasps.
Things then got worse for Wasps when they conceded a penalty from a kick-return. Staunton wasted no time punishing them and extended the Tigers' lead to Leicester Tigers 13 -6 Wasps.
Although Wasps failed to threaten the Leicester's try line, they remained in touch with a penalty of their own. Captain Craig Newby was penalised for not rolling away and Wasps kicked their way back into touching distance.
On 27 minutes, Leicester again breached the Wasps try-line. Mark van Gisbergen failed to claim the high ball from Staunton 's kick and a quick turn-over resulted in Lock Mafi crossing the line. Staunton fired the pass across the Centres and Mafi sold Walder the dummy and broke through a poor attempted tackle from Richard Haughton to make it Leicester Tiges18-9 Wasps.
Things became even worse for Wasps when Joe Worsley had to be replaced. He walked off with discomfort in the back of his neck, although it didn't look too serious.
The second half saw more of the same as Leicester continued to apply pressure to the Wasps' defense. Staunton added another three points on 43 minutes when Riki Flutey was penalised for offside. Leicester Tigers 21 -9 Wasps
Wasps immediately replied when Newby was punished for not releasing the tackler and Walder reduced the deficit to Leicester Tigers 21-12 Wasps
Edwards' side constantly withstood the pressure from Leicester who couldn't break down their resilient defence.
However, Wasps never looked likely to score and Walder's failed attempt at stealing a bonus point in the 76 minute was charged down and any hope at coming away with a point diminished.
In the last play of the game, Number 8 Thomas Waldrom audaciously attempted a drop goal to complete the performance but unfortunately for him the ball struck the cross-bar. Wasps launched a counter attack which resulted in the ball being hacked out by the cleanest man on the pitch, full-back Scott Hamilton for full time.
The Reaction
England Hooker George Chuter was pleased with the result and said: 'Both sides tried to play rugby in difficult conditions. But our hard work paid off.'
He added: 'Its not the fanciest or team with the most flair that wins. It was a case of just getting the job done.'
Leicester:
Tries - Staunton, Mafi
Penalties - Staunton(3)
Conversion - Staunton
Wasps:
Tries -
Penalties - Walder (4)
Conversion -
Leicester: 15 Scott Hamilton, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Jeremy Staunton, 9 James Grindal, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Ben Woods, 6 Craig Newby (Captain), 5 George Skivington, 4 Steve Mafi, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 George Chuter, 1 Boris Stankovich.
Replacements: 16 Rob Hawkins, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Peter Bucknall, 19 Calum Green, 20 Tom Croft, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Dan Hipkiss, 23 Billy Twelvetrees.
Wasps: 15 Mark Van Gisbergen, 14 Richard Haughton, 13 Dominic Waldouck, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Ben Jacob, 10 Dave Walder, 9 Nic Berry, 8 Joe Worsley 7 Serge Betsen, 6 Joe Launchbury, 5 Richard Birkett (Captain), 4 Marty Veale, 3 Ben Broster, 2 Tom Lindsay, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Joe Ward 17 Shaun Ruwers, 18 Bob Baker, 19 James Cannon, 20 Sam Jones, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Steve Kefu, 23 Jack Wallace.
