Wasps finished with two closing tries for a 32-17 bonus point success at the Ricoh Arena, but there was enough in Connacht’s performance to suggest that they can reverse the result at the Sportsground next Saturday.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: WASPS 32 CONNACHT 17
Pat Lam’s men were only 20-17 behind when Jack Carty missed a penalty on the hour mark, and Wasps showed their clinical edge in the final quarter to make certain of a second victory in three Champions Cup rounds.
Tries in each half from Kieran Marmion and replacement centre Rory Parata, who ran in a terrific intercept effort, were the high points for the visitors whose scrum was excellent but their lineout imploded alarmingly.
Lam said afterwards that the absence of injured main caller Andrew Browne and cup-tied ex-Wasp James Cannon, allied to Quinn Roux’s bout of illness during the week, meant Connacht’s lineout ‘wasn’t as fluid’ as they would have liked.
“I know (forwards coach) Jimmy (Duffy) will work with those guys and get it right, because it’s a key part of our game. If you can’t get that ball, it makes it very difficult,” said the head coach.
Connacht’s execution definitely let them down at crucial junctures of the game, failing to come away with points when they had Wasps under a lot of pressure. That was the case in the opening minutes when Josh Bassett snapped up a Stacey Ili pass that could have put Jake Heenan over for a try.
The westerners mixed the good with the bad early on in this entertaining encounter, losing lineout possession forward and then hammering Wasps in the very first scrum. But the hosts then showed their intent with a powerful ground-gaining surge from number 8 Nathan Hughes.
They hit the front in the sixth minute when Australian star Kurtley Beale, who was making his long-awaited debut, spun out of a poor tackle from centre Ili and reached over for a converted try.
Connacht’s lineout let them down again in their attempts to respond, Wasps’ hugely influential captain Joe Launchbury getting to Tom McCartney’s throw first. A Marmion snipe led to a kickable penalty just to the left of the posts, but his half-back partner Carty let Wasps off the hook with a bad miss from the tee.
French referee Alexandre Ruiz’s whistle was a big feature throughout this round 3 fixture, and his decision to sin bin Beale for a high tackle on Niyi Adeolokun as the Connacht winger stepped back inside drew the ire of the home crowd.
Carty clipped over the resulting penalty for 7-3 but Connacht lost a third lineout on their own throw – a real area of frustration on the day – and former Leinster out-half Jimmy Gopperth punished a Denis Buckley offside to restore Wasps’ seven-point lead.
A classy try straight from a Connacht scrum saw the visitors deservedly draw level with 25 minutes gone. Captain John Muldoon picked off the base, got away from Dan Robson and his excellent offload saw Marmion scamper away from Ashley Johnson for a gleeful dive over the try-line. Carty converted for a 10-all scoreline.
Most of Connacht’s best play was coming through Marmion, the livewire scrum half making another break soon after his try. Their scrum continued to impress and it took some good scrambling from Wasps to thwart flanker Heenan after space had suddenly opened up.
A 35th minute penalty from Gopperth after Connacht had gone off their feet at the breakdown gave Wasps a narrow 13-10 half-time lead, and the visitors’ sloppy start to the second period saw them go 10 points behind.
Cian Kelleher failed to link with Marmion on a promising left wing break, Adeolokun had a pass intercepted by Bassett and Buckley was pinged for a ruck offence, giving Wasps a lineout platform for their 43rd minute try. Connacht’s maul defence gave way, with Johnson able to charge up close to the line before fellow back rower Hughes crashed over and Gopperth converted.
Importantly, Connacht managed to hit back barely two minutes later. Eager replacement Parata, who came on for Ili before the interval, succeeded in gobbling up Gopperth’s attempted looping pass to run in a seven-pointer from 30 metres out.
The returning Matt Healy made a timely impact too off the bench, hurtling downfield on a kick chase to heap pressure on man-of-the-match Beale. Unfortunately, another pacy attack ended with Healy slipping and duly knocking on as he attempted to connect with Kelleher.
Second row Launchbury came to Wasps’ rescue, winning two ruck penalties to break up Connacht’s attacking momentum. Nepia Fox-Matamua returned the favour, securing terrific turnover ball in midfield and Parata’s offload sent Adeolokun speeding through. Wasps were ruled offside but Carty’s 60th-minute penalty attempt went narrowly outside the right hand post.
Connacht’s back-line now had a patched-up look to it with Tiernan O’Halloran and Kelleher both off injured. Replacement scrum half Caolin Blade had to step in on the wing and the province’s collective efforts waned as Wasps went on to seal the deal, bagging the full five points.
Some crisp handling and clever running, with Beale doing the initial damage, led to Gopperth passing out to the left where Launchbury galloped over from 20 metres out. Gopperth and Beale were the key men in the build-up to Wasps’ bonus point score in the 73rd minute, their passes freeing up impressive winger Barrett for an unconverted effort in the left corner.
Giving his assessment after a disappointing final quarter, Lam said: “There’s still a long way to go. The main feeling we have is we’re pretty deflated because of a missed opportunity. We really thought we had a good chance to upset them here and we can’t fault the effort of the boys.
“At 20-17 down, there was a period of time of 48 minutes to 60 minutes where we had enough opportunities to really put some pressure on, get ahead and come home strong, but we didn’t make the most of it, either through giving ball away, turning ball over, penalties. We let them off the hook and they came back strong, and it was from our own turnovers.”
Commenting on the injuries picked up by the province, he added: “Bundee (Aki) took a pretty big knee to his thigh, like a haematoma, so he lost feeling initially. A lot of us have had them, but he’s a real trooper and carried on.
“Stacey was ankle, Jack (Carty) was ankle/knee, Cian Kelleher was hamstring, Tiernan was haematoma, he got a knee when he jumped in the air, right in his hip as well.
“There’s no doubt that with a six-day turnaround for both teams, our squad is not the same size as theirs, so we’re going to have to have a pretty light week. The recovery is going to have to be the most important thing…the clarity, particularly for our learnings, and there’s a few there.”
Pool 2 of European rugby’s top tier competition is now led by Wasps (12 points), with Connacht (9) lying in second place ahead of their return clash with Dai Young’s side in Galway. Following their bonus point win at Zebre, Toulouse have eight points in third.
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