Wasps swarming for crack at third European title
No Premiership club has won three European titles, but Wasps are chasing that ground-breaking achievement after crushing Llanelli 33-17 at Stradey Park in Munster’s Pool 5.
The bonus point victory, underpinned by centre Fraser Waters’ try double, took them to top of Pool Five and set up enticing back-to-back clashes against French heavyweights Clermont Auvergne next month.
McGeechan said: “Away wins are hard to get in this group. So to get a five-point away victory is a tremendous performance and credit to the players.” Wasps, who had lost their previous two Heineken Cup encounters at Llanelli, left last season’s semi-finalists needing a miraculous recovery to emerge from arguably the toughest group the competition has witnessed.
Scarlets’ rugby director Phil Davies said: “This group was always going to be tough, but we have four games left which are going to be cup finals. We will hope to get the show back on the road. We will take it on the chin.”
Wasps’ fellow Premiership challengers London Irish and Leicester also claimed impressive bonus point wins, but a late penalty denied Saracens a famous victory over 2006 runners-up Biarritz.
Irish moved top of Pool One by smashing Rodney Parade hosts Newport Gwent Dragons 45-17, a triumph orchestrated by 36-year-old England World Cup veteran Mike Catt.
The Exiles’ fly-half scored one try and was instrumental throughout an embarrassingly lopsided opening period when wing Tomas de Vedia (2) and centre Delon Armitage also added touchdowns. Catt said: “We would have been happy to collect an away point from Newport, so to get five points is pretty special.
Leicester launched the Marcelo Loffreda coaching era at Welford Road with a 39-0 success against Andy Robinson’s Edinburgh, posting five tries that included touchdowns for Geordan Murphy and Martin Corry.
Tigers now face Pool Six rivals Toulouse home and away next month. Loffreda said: “Edinburgh can score points when they have possession, but they never got the ball.” And a rueful Robinson admitted: “We were physically dominated. We were bullied the whole game, and I thought the referee got bullied as well.”
It was heartbreak for Saracens in Pool Four, as scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili’s strike saw Biarritz home 22-21 at Parc des Sports Aguilera. Saracens outscored their hosts 3-1 on tries, but they were punished for conceding too many penalties.
Rugby director Alan Gaffney said: “I can’t say we were robbed, but I am definitely disappointed. It was very hard to live with the penalty count, but the last penalty was definitely legitimate, I have no doubts about it.
“Although I thought we played well enough to win, conceding nine penalties is not on.”
Harlequins’ hopes of winning Pool Three nosedived after group leaders Cardiff Blues held them to a 13-13 draw at the Twickenham Stoop. England number eight Nick Easter scored a try for the home side, but Cardiff — Heineken Cup under-achievers for so long — denied Quins a victory they desperately needed.
“We had 70% of the lineout possession, our scrum was pretty good and from a territorial point of view it was probably 60-40, but we didn’t capitalise on it,” said Harlequinsdirector of rugby Dean Richards.
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