Inspired Wasps take Lansdowne by storm

Munster 32 London Wasps 37

The loss of David Wallace early in the week and play-maker Ronan O'Gara after 28 minutes of this absorbing Heineken Cup semi-final was just too much for Munster at Lansdowne Road yesterday.

Wasps, inspired by Warren Gatland's return to Dublin, outplayed the perennial bridesmaids of this competition by five tries to two, recovered from a 10-point deficit midway through the second half and won their way deservedly to a decider against champions Toulouse at Twickenham on May 22.

Mind you, even though Munster can have no complaints with the outcome, they did everything to make their customary edge-of-the-seat exit.

Man of the Match Rob Howley summed it up: "it was deliberately planned for us to stay at Jurys near Lansdowne Road. We knew the crowd would be against us and decided to try to turn that to our advantage. We couldn't hear much from the terraces but we knew our fans were there."

The crucial turning points of this game came when O'Gara had to retire with a leg injury and when Donncha O'Callaghan, controversially, and Rob Henderson deservedly were dismissed for different 10 minutes cooling-off periods by referee Nigel Williams.

O'Callaghan was dismissed in the 63rd minute and Henderson in the 72nd. Munster were hanging onto a seven-point lead, but then Tom Voyce cruised through for a try that Alex King converted. The trap door opened fully when Trevor Leota got in at the corner to secure Wasps' fifth try and the ultimate five points' winning margin.

Howley hailed Munster for their huge effort but took great delight in the win. "It's one of the greatest days of my rugby career, beating a great team in their own backyard.

"But it was a huge battle out there and people like Lawrence Dallaglio, Simon Shaw and Craig Dowd had to use all their experience to keep us going through those last ten minutes or so."

There was a frantic start to the game, with a Ronan O'Gara penalty, a try to Josh Lewsey and conversion by Alex King, and subsequent penalties by the respective No 10s. O'Gara again kicked a third and it was 10-9 to Wasps with less than 15 minutes gone.

Still, Munster lived dangerously at times. They got through the scare of another Alex King penalty that fell short and a dynamic run from Lewsey that failed when his attempted offload went forward.

Munster came back into the match and substitute Jason Holland (on as a 28th-minute replacement for the injured O'Gara) kicked a penalty to give Munster the lead.

But just as quickly, though, they were reduced to 14 men when Joe Worsley was sin-binned, Wasps wrestled back control. Holland had a kick charged down by Howley and Paul Volley was on hand for the try that King converted. Munster stuck in there and Holland kicked a further penalty with the last kick of the first half to leave them just a couple of points behind, 15-17.

The extravaganza continued in the second period when Mark Van Gisbergen gave Wasps a further boost with a try in the corner after less than 60 seconds. Holland pegged it back to 18-22 with a seventh minute penalty but the game exploded 10 minutes later when Anthony Foley ploughed over for a try that Holland converted. There was a hint of a knock-on in the build-up, but Munster's luck held, and they capitalised with interest minutes later as Jim Williams went in for another score, with Holland converting for a remarkable 32-22 lead.

With Donncha O'Callaghan in the sin bin, Wasps inevitably responded and King kicked a penalty to reduce the arrears to seven points. Game on, hearts thumping, nerves in shreds. When Munster centre Rob Henderson went to the bin, it stretched Munster to breaking point and beyond. Voyce scorched through for a try that King converted and then Trevor Leota got in at the corner for the vital fifth to give Wasps what proved to be an unassailable 37-32 lead.

Leota, much maligned for his inaccurate throw-ins to the lineout could well have taken the champagne from Howley. His presence throughout the afternoon was immense, never more evident when he brought off a crushing tackle on Frankie Sheahan in the dying moments.

MUNSTER: C. Cullen, J. Kelly, M. Mullins, R. Henderson, S. Payne, R. O'Garaa, P. Stringer, M. Horan, F. Sheahan, J. Hayes, D. O'Callaghan, P O'Connell, J. Williams (captain), A. Foley, S. Keogh.

Replacements: J. Holland for O'Gara, injured 28), A. Horgan for Keogh (78)

WASPS: M. Van Gisbergen, J. Lewshey, F. Waters, S. Abbott, T. Voyce, A. King, R. Howley, C. Dowd, T. Leota, W. Green, S. Shaw, R. Birkett, J. Worsley, L. Dalaglio (captain), P. Volley.

Replacements: P. Richards for Howley (79). Blood replacement. A. Erinle for Volley (44-49).

Referee: N. Williams (Wales).