Match Centre: Wasps 39-29 Bath Rugby

Wasps 39-29 Bath Rugby, Ricoh Arena
Scorecard

Thomas Young scored a double as Wasps went on to defeat Bath Rugby 39-29 in the 17th round of the Gallagher Premiership at Ricoh Arena on Sunday.

Wasps continue to remain ninth with 36 points despite securing their seventh win in the competition while Bath are at seventh place with 41 points - one behind sixth positioned London Irish.

Young started the proceedings for the hosts on his 100th appearance as he crossed the whitewash in the seventh minute following a driving line out but Jacob Umaga's conversion went wide. The 17th minute saw Wasps lose Will Rowlands temporarily for a blood injury assessment, even though he managed to return back 14 minutes later.

With Umaga missing a penalty shot, the opening quarter ended with Wasps having a five-point lead but the visitors went on to level the scores around the half-hour mark with Miles Reid dotting down from a 5-m line out for his second try in as many games.

As Wasps lost their captain Joe Launchbury to a leg injury, they soon overcame the setback with Umaga's kick setting up Josh Bassett, who ran in 35m to score their second try. Umaga also added a penalty and a conversion on either side to ensure Wasps completed the opening half with a 15-5 lead.

Orlando Bailey scored his first points in the game in the 46th minute as a penalty goal narrowed the gap between the sides to seven points before Michael Le Bourgeois and Josh McNally traded tries making it 22-15. Umaga restored the 10 point lead for Wasps with his second penalty kick in the 55th minute but Bath clawed their way back into the game when Ben Obano's huge carry saw him dive under the posts with the gap coming down to three points around the one-hour mark.

The visitors took the lead for the first time in the game when Reid provided the break for Ben Spencer to dot down in the 70th minute and a conversion from Bailey made it 25-29. However, their momentum suffered a major setback as they were restricted to 14 players in the last seven minutes in the game with Obano sent off for a high tackle on Ben Morris.

With the numerical advantage on their side, Wasps scored back to back tries in the final five minutes with both Young and Paolo Odogwu crossing over to complete a 10 point victory.

Team line up:

Wasps: Miller; Odogwu, Fekitoa, Le Bourgeois, Bassett; Umaga, Robson; West, Taylor, Brookes, Launchbury, Rowlands, Morris, Young, Shields.

Reserves: Oghre, Harris, Toomaga-Allen, Douglas, Willis, Porter, Atkinson, Kibirige.

Bath: Watson; Cokanasiga, Joseph, Redpath, Muir; Bailey, Chudley; Schoeman, Dunn, Thomas, McNally, Ewels, Reid, Underhill, Mercer.

Reserves: Du Toit, Obano, Judge, Stooke, Bayliss, Spencer, Clark, Gray.