Wasps claim unlikely win at Bath to move fourth

David Skippers

Wasps claimed a remarkable Premiership victory by beating play-off rivals Bath 27-23 despite losing four players injured at the Rec on Monday.

Flanker Thomas Young, full-back Lima Sopoaga, hooker Tommy Taylor and Taylor’s replacement Gabriel Oghre all departed during the first 34 minutes.

It meant the match going to uncontested scrums, so stretched were Wasps’ front-row resources, yet Bath could not take advantage and a 75th-minute penalty try after Bath collapsed a maul saw the visitors home.

It took Wasps back into fourth place and ended Bath’s unbeaten run since the competition restarted after lockdown.

Fly-half Jacob Umaga and prop Tom West scored tries for Wasps, while Umaga kicked two conversions and a penalty and full-back Sopoaga slotted a penalty.

Wing Ruaridh McConnochie and substitute hooker Jack Walker claimed Bath’s touchdowns, and fly-half Rhys Priestland kicked 13 points.

Bath showed 12 changes from the side which won at Northampton on Wednesday as they targeted a best run of Premiership results since November.

Wasps, meanwhile, had six switches of personnel in their attempt to bounce back from a home defeat against Sale Sharks last time out.

And Bath made a flying start, going ahead after just two minutes after Wasps blundered when they tried to run possession from inside their own 22.

Young was down receiving treatment, and the visitors went for an audacious counter-attack, but a dropped pass gave McConnochie a chance, and he finished superbly, with Priestland’s conversion making it 7-0.

Priestland then kicked a seventh-minute penalty, leaving Wasps with plenty of early problems to ponder against arguably the Premiership’s form team since restart.

Young had been on the receiving end of a hefty collision and failed a subsequent head injury assessment, then Priestland and Sopoaga exchanged penalties as Bath maintained a 10-point advantage.

Wasps lost two more players to injury when Sopoaga and Taylor went off, but they enjoyed a spell of territorial dominance as Umaga looked to free dangerous wings Marcus Watson and Zach Kibirige.

Taylor had barely left the field before Wasps conjured a quality try, with scrum-half Dan Robson’s agility turning Priestland inside out before delivering a scoring pass to Umaga.

Umaga converted his own try, and Wasps were back in contention, trailing by three points midway through the second quarter.

The injury curse would not leave Wasps, though, and Oghre went off just eight minutes after taking over from Taylor, meaning uncontested scrums as prop Simon McIntyre joined the action.

There was a lengthy delay while referee Wayne Barnes sought assurances from the Wasps staff about their hooking options, and without a recognised hooker, it resulted in Robson and McIntyre throwing into the line-out.

Umaga then drew Wasps level on the stroke of half-time, underlining an admirable recovery in adversity.

Wasps remained in the hunt during a third quarter that saw a Priestland penalty put Bath ahead again, only for the visitors to respond brilliantly.

A flowing move ended with Bath defending desperately, but they could not keep West out from close range, and his try was converted by Umaga for a 20-16 lead.

Bath looked shell-shocked, needing to regroup before regaining the advantage through Walker’s touchdown and a Priestland conversion after Wasps’ forwards back-pedalled inside their own 22.

But then came the clinching penalty try, and Wasps could claim a famous victory.

Earlier in the day, Saracens stepped up preparations for their European quarter-final against Leinster by crushing London Irish 40-12 at Twickenham Stoop in the latest Premiership mismatch.

Already relegated from the top flight for repeated salary cap breeches, the double winners were close to full strength against opponents featuring nine academy representatives and consequently won despite never finding top gear.

The lineout drive emerged as their most potent weapon with four tries plundered from the set-piece and, having exposed the Exiles’ Achilles heal, they exploited it ruthlessly with two-try hooker Jamie George and England team-mate Maro Itoje at the heart of their dominance.

Prop Richard Barrington also crossed twice, while there were additional touchdowns for Brad Barritt and Billy Vunipola with the bonus point secured in the 35th minute of another lop-sided Premiership contest.

Knowing they must spend next season in the second tier of English rugby, Saracens’ sole aim for the 2019/20 campaign is to retain the Champions Cup in a quest that resumes with a seismic quarter-final against Leinster on September 19.

Three Premiership matches remain until their trip to Dublin, offering opportunities to continue fine-tuning, but on the evidence of their trip to south west London their line-out driving maul needs little work.

They powered ahead from such a move in the 10th minute when George pick out Michael Rhodes before joining the back of the maul and touching down when the pack had rumbled over.

And while the personnel were slightly different, it was the same method that led to the second as Itoje caught a pinpoint throw before the surge came and only ended when Barritt, who had joined from the midfield, slipped across the whitewash.

Irish responded when sustained pressure was followed by a half-break by James Stokes and the ensuing pick and goes ended when Argentina great Agustin Creevy, who was making his debut, produced the decisive carry.

But the home try was a only a brief interruption to Saracens’ dominance as runs by wing Alex Lewington and openside Jackson Wray swept them downfield where a quickly taken penalty by Vunipola ended with him crashing over.

Centre Matt Williams hustled his way to Irish’s second after the fallen champions blundered at the restart, allowing the ball to be fly-hacked onwards, but they atoned with their next drive downfield when a familiar line-out maul produced a second for George.

And there was no respite in the second half as Saracens continued to hammer away at a highly profitable tactic and this time it was Barrington who barrelled over.

The loosehead prop claimed his second shortly after the Exiles were pounded into submission by a series of pick and goes, the final scoring act behind closed doors at Twickenham Stoop.