Wasps cruise in Adams Park farewell

Editor

Wasps signed off in style in their final game at Adams Park with a convincing 44-15 win over Castres.

The home side, who will play their first game in Coventry’s Ricoh Arena next weekend, ran in seven tries, including braces for Tom Varndell and Ben Jacobs.

Against a second string Castres side, they dominated from the start and had wrapped up the bonus point before half-time.

The five points take them up to 12 overall in Pool Two, just a point behind Harlequins and Leinster with two games remaining.

The Premiership outfit went into the interval 25-5 in front thanks to tries from Jake Cooper-Woolley, Nathan Hughes, Varndell and Jacobs. Andy Goode also kicked a penalty in the first half while the away side’s response came via Marc-Antoine Rallier’s touchdown.

Castres were better in the second period and scored tries through Max Evans and Florian Houerie

However Varndell, Guy Thompson and Jacobs went over for Wasps to complete a fine win and keep them in with a chance of qualifying.

Having gone into the game six points behind joint leaders Harlequins and Leinster in Pool Two, the hosts needed a bonus-point win to keep them in contention, and they got off to an ideal start.

They controlled territory in the opening exchanges and, following good work from Sailosi Tagicakibau and Jacobs to keep the ball alive, Cooper-Woolley powered his way over the line.

To their credit, Castres came to play and keep the ball in hand but for the most part they were ineffective and it was Dai Young’s men who were creating the opportunities.

Goode added a penalty after the visitors went off their feet before an outstanding line and finish from Hughes extended the home side’s advantage to 13-0.

Rallier’s try gave the French team brief respite from Wasps’ onslaught but the English outfit restored their 13-point buffer when Kearnan Myall’s break and offload sent Varndell over.

Jacobs wrapped up the bonus point before the break as he pounced on a loose ball and finished superbly to complete an outstanding first-half performance.

Castres dominated the early stages of the second period and Evans eventually gave them the score they deserved.

But the visitors couldn’t build on that effort and another flowing move by the hosts once again saw Varndell cross the whitewash.

Thompson then went over following a powerful driving maul before Houerie touched down late on for the French team.

However, the final word was rightly reserved for Wasps who scored a seventh try through Jacobs.

The scorers:

For Wasps:
Tries: Cooper-Woolley, Hughes, Varndell 2, Jacobs 2, Thompson
Cons: Goode, Lozowski 2
Pen: Goode

For Castres:
Tries: Rallier, Evans, Houerie
Con: Palis

The teams:

Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 13 Ben Jacobs, 12 Andrea Masi, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Charlie Davies, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 James Haskell (c), 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Edd Shervington, 1 Matt Mullan
Replacements: 16 Tom Lindsay, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Guy Thompson, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Chris Bell

Castres: 15 Julien Dumora, 14 Geoffrey Palis, 13 Thomas Combezou, 12 Max Evans, 11 Remi Grosso, 10 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 9 Cedric Garcia, 8 Jannie Bornman, 7 Yannick Caballero (c), 6 Ibrahim Diarra, 5 Benjamin Desroche, 4 Piula Faasalele, 3 Yohan Mont