Bonus-earning Wasps hammer champions Exeter despite loss of Jack Willis to injury
Exeter fell to their first defeat since October as Wasps avenged last season’s Gallagher Premiership final heartache with a 34-5 victory over the champions. Once again the Ricoh Arena proved to be an unhappy hunting ground for the Chiefs, who paid the price for resting internationals Luke Cowan-Dickie, Harry Williams, Jonny Gray, Jonny Hill, Sam Skinner and Henry Slade.
Their most recent defeat came at the same venue almost three months ago – albeit after fielding a shadow team – and on this occasion they failed to live with the speed and energy of a Wasps side armed with a point to prove after succumbing 19-13 in the Twickenham showpiece in October.
Flanker James Gaskell and prop Simon McIntyre each crossed twice and there was also a try for full-back Lima Sopoaga. The bonus point was secured with twelve minutes left and two of the tries were high quality.
Wasps, brilliantly directed by half-backs Dan Robson and Jacob Umaga and led by man of the match Joe Launchbury, were utterly dominant for the final half-hour as Exeter’s perfect start to the league came to a shuddering halt.
The only cloud on the horizon was an injury to England flanker Jack Willis, who failed to appear for the second half after being hurt during a pick and go.
A statement victory for @WaspsRugby 🐝
• Five tries
• 29-point winning margin
• First team to beat Exeter this seasonThis score from @LimaSopoaga the pick of the bunch at the Ricoh Arena! 👏 pic.twitter.com/CW4VhY3XU2
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) January 2, 2021
Even without their Test stars, who were observing mandatory rest periods following their involvement in the Autumn Nations Cup, Exeter made a solid start. Handling errors from Launchbury and Willis hampered Wasps’ progress and they broke downfield with one opportunistic raid but the opening 15 minutes was otherwise dominated by the Chiefs pack.
That was turned on its head, however, when Wasps’ first visit in the 22 climaxed with a series of pick and goes – initially launched from a lineout until Gaskell forced his way over with the TMO providing confirmation. The packs continued to take centre stage with Exeter the next to pound the whitewash but the home defence showed remarkable resilience in an area of the pitch where the Chiefs are traditionally lethal.
Wasps finished the half with a Sopoaga penalty and, after a first 40 minutes of forward attrition, the play was lit up by a dazzling try from each side. Exeter were the first to pounce when Joe Simmonds slid into space as part of a counter-attack launched from inside the Chiefs’ half and, when openside Richard Capstick broke Tom Willis’ tackle, he still had Sopoaga to beat.
Showing impressive pace, he galloped around the Kiwi full-back and over the line with teammate Tomas Francis diving on top of him in celebration. Wasps replied with a high-octane try that had multiple contributors but at its heart was Umaga, whose decisive action was to send Launchbury through a gap and – one pass later – Gaskell was over for his second.
Six minutes later and the 2019/20 runners-up were over again as wing Josh Bassett entered the midfield at pace, drew the cover and sent Sopoaga over. Total Wasps domination followed as Exeter were pinned by relentless waves of forward drives and inevitably the breakthrough came when McIntyre drove over from close range before the replacement prop added a similar-looking second in injury time.
Esportif’s salary report for the 2020/21 season in England has claimed that No10 is the best-paid player by position in the Premiership and openside the worst#GallagherPrem https://t.co/WsGWFRtSc6
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 2, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
One of the best the Boks have ever produced. PSDT has an engine that goes non-stop for the full 80 min.
4 Go to commentsThe real deal.
4 Go to commentsIt’s been said that Nienaber will head back to SA too before next World Cup , hoarding all the amazing IP gained in Irish system … get a grip … Irish system needs to Milk the likes of Barrett . First time a leading all Black in his prime has gone to Ireland for any period of time . Enjoy it .
20 Go to comments20 min RC is the only good solution of a bunch of bad solutions. Ridiculous that it has taken this long and caused so many uneven contests. In general these are all very good changes - one is surprised that NH brokers were able to see sense at long last.
7 Go to comments“While a red card will mean a temporary team disadvantage, the replacement system will focus punishment on the offending player instead of disrupting the game itself.” This might work for amateur rugby, where players just want to be on the pitch for as long as possible, but hopefully we’ve got to a point where top level professionals care about the success of their team much more than about whether they personally are on the pitch or not.
7 Go to commentsa lot of focus on the targeting of south africa, but aspects of this are positive. The croc roll; the offside law; and time limits on set pieces are all good. calling for a mark off kick offs is baffling, but I guess we’ll see how it plays out in practice
24 Go to commentsSpeeding the game up is great, but I think we will find that the increase in viewership this year mostly comes down to the competition being more competitive…the fall of the Crusaders has been a boon for viewership. This should be at the heart of super rugby changes - how to make the comp more even
23 Go to commentsThe fact that the press were largely to blame for his taking a break is nothing short of disgusting. He’s made a few mistakes but difficult to name a player of any substance who gives it a full go hasn’t also made mistakes? On behalf of a large number of Bokke fans, bring back Farrell !!!!!
1 Go to commentsPSTD is a fantastic flanker. He could benefit from a bit of self-promotion / flair and he is not quite the danger man that Ardie is. That said, he is my 1st pick to build a backrow around. His speed and hustle made up for Duane who got quite a bit slower at the 8.
4 Go to commentssurprised, disco lights haven't been banned by world rugby board
24 Go to commentsToo many changes. Too often. I’m tired of this WR administration. How do we vote these fockers out? Bill needs to go.
24 Go to commentsDu Toit, 2 time W.Cup winner yet rarely mentioned a “Great “…if one looks back on his stellar carrier perhaps someone will one day elevate him to “Richie” status…a quiet, polite yet devastating loose forward that knew action speaks louder than words..
4 Go to commentsI like the offside rule, but this won't affect my team because all their kicks gets chased and that putts everyone on side. Lekker manne!
24 Go to comments20 minute Red Card is untenable. If you don’t punish the whole team, coaches won’t be sufficently incentivised to pick players with, or coach better tackle technique.
7 Go to commentsI can only think of One time ever a team has opted for a scrum from a free kick… Why the law change I wonder
24 Go to commentsYeah, its not going to work. But we see you World Rugby.
24 Go to commentsLove the reaction after last 2 W.Cups re rule changes…maybe good for more for more of a “ league” type running game( which I personally don’t like) but seems Rassie is definitely in ther heads…
24 Go to commentsGreat. More unwanted changes. Because these always work out well.
24 Go to commentsI’m sure South Africa’s opponents will rejoice at World Rugby minimising one of the Boks’ most potent weapons, but you just know Rassie is cooking something up with free-kicks that no-one else has thought of. Let them play checkers. Rassie’s playing chess. 😂
24 Go to commentsAfter a fairly simple Pac4, the BFs will find out a lot about themselves in September when they face the rampaging RedRoses at Twickenham in front of a record crowd. After that they will face them again in Canada in WXV1. They also have France to contend with. Will be interesting to see what Australia have to offer with Jo Yapp at the helm.
1 Go to comments