Four-try win lifts Wasps’ Euro hopes
WASPS (38) vs GLASGOW (26)
WASPS boss Tony Hanks hailed Joe Simpson after the scrum-half’s wonder-try helped kick-start their Heineken Cup campaign with a bonus-point victory over Glasgow.
Tom Varndell, Ben Jacobs and Dominic Waldouck also went over as the Londoners climbed to second in Pool Six, two points behind reigning champions Toulouse.
But it was man-of-the-match Simpson who caught the eye in the eighth minute, breaking from a scrum near the Glasgow 22 before darting through their defence.
“That was probably Joe’s best game for us. Defensively he was very good and kicked well generally,” said director of rugby Hanks.
“Joe does things like that try in every game, that’s what people talk about because it’s the x-factor he’s got. He’s had a run of games after struggling with injury and he’s grown in maturity. His game management is really growing. Glasgow will be disappointed because Joe did that to them twice in pre-season.”
Hanks added: “We’re rapt. This was a huge game that we had to win to stay in the pool.”
Glasgow battled manfully to get something from the game, Ruaridh Jackson contributing a try and five kicks, but Wasps held on in a hard-fought climax to deny the visitors a losing bonus point. Coach Sean Lineen admitted they struggled to recover from a first half that saw them concede three tries.
“We had a poor first 20 minutes collectively. They weren’t doing anything special and we were hanging off them,” he said. “The tries were too soft. We showed more spirit in the second half and scored a couple of tries ourselves. To come away with nothing is very disappointing, especially given all the ball we had in the last 20 minutes.”