London Wasps are a club that are building, by their own admission they are not the finished article nor are they as good as they were during their Golden Era, however they are building again. Their performances in the Aviva Premiership have been patchy, from wins filled with brilliance to the low of last weekend's thumping against the Northampton Saints, it has been a bumpy ride. Stade Francais arrived in High Wycombe after a similar journey, initially they were flying high in the Top 14 and pushing the likes of Racing and Clermont however their season dramatically tailed off and they found themselves in a fight on the last weekend to secure a shot at Europe and claim that coveted 7th position.
Wasps were able to field an almost full strength side with Sam Jones and Jake Cooper-Wooley being the exceptions and whilst they would be missed Phil Swainston (starting) and Guy Thompson (benched) were more than capable of taking the reins. Stade’s missing link was a man that was less replaceable; Sergio Parisse and his calming presence and brilliance was always going to be sorely missed by the visitors. Before kick off questions were posed regarding the soaring temperatures and whether this would suit Stade or Wasps better… the initial answers swayed towards an advantage to Wasps, given their fitness levels however there was a strong counter argument that Stade’s wingers, Arias and Camara, were used to a spot of sun and would flourish. The one thing that everyone agreed on was the fact that it would be a tight and fiercely competitive affair between two sides that were going to throw the ball around and play a lot of eyes up rugby.
Stade had opportunities early on in the game however Julien Dupuy struggled off the tee and 6 points went begging from eminently kickable opportunities. Wasps felt their way into the match Daly looked sharp and Varndell was hungry for work and he was rewarded with lovely try. Crucially Stade weren't fazed, instead they calmly went about their business and answered every Wasps score with one of their own. It made for a tight first forty minutes and at half time the score line read Wasps 13 Stade Francais 12.
The second
half was extremely action packed as the match opened up; James Haskell looked
to have scored early on however the TMO thought otherwise and then fellow back
rower Ashley Johnson bulldozed over. Stade responded with a period of sustained
pressure resulting in a Haskell sin bin and 3 more points from the boot of
Dupuy who had found his range. As was the case with so many Premiership teams
this weekend Wasps showed their resilience when down to 14 men and the solo try
that Joe Simpson scored was one of the best that we have seen this year and at
that point you thought that Wasps were home and dry. Rightly so Tom Palmer received a standing ovation from the crowd when he left the field, it was his last game at Adams Park and he is a firm club faourite that will be missed, They say never write off
the French and that was certainly the case as Stade weren't done just yet,
Vuidravuwalu had one more response and he glided over for the easiest try of the
day and pushed the visitors’ noses in front. In playoff rugby every single
point counts and Andy Goode’s last minute penalty secured the home side a 1
point lead and the win… 30 points to 29 is by no means emphatic however
psychologically heading to Paris with a win is vital.Stade at home are an altogether different prospect and Wasps know that they will step into a cauldron of noise and hostility in just a few days’ over the channel, they must be mentally and physically up for the challenge. This weekend Sergio Parisse will be fit and his presence cannot be under-estimated... his aura and obviously skill set will add another dimension to the home side, Wasp have a small Parisian mountain to climb and the question is can it be done? Well naturally some of Wasps’ key men feel that it can, speaking to James Haskell and Ashley Johnson after they know that everyone has ‘written them off', their intention is to go to Paris and let the atmosphere fuel them in order to ‘play without fear'.
It was great to see so many fans of the Aviva Premiership getting behind London Wasps, I myself took off my cloak of neutrality and heartily cheered for the men in Black and Gold and I will do so from the stands in Paris this coming weekend. Premiership representation in Europe is vital as it pushes players to excel and provides them with test match level rugby throughout the year. It will be a tough ask for Young’s men however as mentioned the prize at stake is a significant one and I know that they will do everything in their power to ensure that the 20th and final place in Europe goes to an Aviva Premiership side.
See all the Out On The Full Photos from Adams Park HERE
