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As ever, the Wasps coach Dai Young was brutally honest about his side after their last-gasp Champions Cup defeat at home to Bath.
No sooner had George Ford’s 86th minute touchline conversion bisected the posts to claim a 25-23 victory that ended Wasps’ run of victories in Pool 5 than Young was admitting his team had to play smarter rugby.
“We’re not here to entertain, we’re here to win games – we have to be smarter. We have to realise that when you're not getting much penetration or much joy, you've got to play field position as well.
“We were nowhere near clinical enough and Bath were much more clinical – they came into our 22 twice in the first-half and scored twice. We weren't quite as good as everyone was saying we were after the Toulon win.”
After a poor start to their Aviva Premiership campaign, Bath’s victory at The Ricoh Arena could well be the confidence boost they needed to kick on. Their home win over Leinster was tight enough, but a 19-16 triumph set them on their way after the false start in round one when their trip to Toulon was postponed.
With their three current England back line stars, Ford, Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson, all contributing to the victory over Wasps, head coach Mike Ford can rightly look forward to the return fixture. And if his son, George, can keep his cool again then anything might be possible.
“You relish those situations really as a goakicker,” said Ford about his winning conversion last weekend. “You are in your own little bubble and not really thinking too much about the outcome.
“I was just thinking about the process. You know it’s a kick to win the game – you understand that – but you just think of the little things you have practiced a thousand times in training and focus on getting a good strike.”
His strike on Sunday couldn’t have been any better and kept his side very much in the hunt in the ‘Pool of Death’. If he can put the boot into Wasps again in round four then Bath will be on top of the table.
Match Facts
- Bath Rugby have now won six of their last seven Champions Cup fixtures and have won each of their last three at home.
- This will be the first time in the Champions Cup that Bath Rugby will host a fellow English side; they have however won five out of five Challenge Cup matches when hosting English teams.
- Wasps have won three of their last four matches away from home in the Champions Cup, by a margin of 15+ points on each occasion.
- Matt Mullan has made more tackles (36) without missing one than any other player in this season’s Champions Cup.
Après s'être fait surprendre dimanche dernier sur leur pelouse
Wasps tightened their grip on Pool 5 by inflicting Bath’s heaviest European Rugby Champions Cup defeat in almost five years.
Semesa Rokoduguni opened the scoring for hosts Bath at the Recreation Ground but Elliot Daly, Jimmy Gopperth and Alapati Leiua all crossed to gain revenge for last week’s home defeat to their English rivals.
Gopperth scored 23 points as Wasps opened a healthy six-point lead over their closest pool rivals. It was a first defeat of the campaign for Bath but they could have few complaints.
Bath pinched a last-gasp 25-23 win at Wasps six days earlier and made an ideal start back at the Rec when Rokoduguni crossed in the 10th minute. Wasps’ lineout was already under pressure when they lost a throw deep inside their own half.
And Bath capitalised when Kyle Eastmond released Rokoduguni to score past Rob Miller in the corner for his first Champions Cup try, converted expertly by George Ford. But Wasps settled and stunned the home crowd with 23 unanswered points before half-time.
Gopperth landed four kicks that included converting Daly’s try after Joe Simpson scooped up a lose pass from Dave Denton to Anthony Watson on half-way. It got worse for Bath when captain Francois Louw limped out of the fray early.
Ford recovered from being knocked over by Nathan Hughes to prevent the Wasps’ rampaging No8 touching down over the line.
But the back-row made a half-break from the resulting scrum and Simpson sent Gopperth charging through three Bath defenders to cross from close range. The fly-half added the conversion for a 23-7 half-time lead.
The second-half was a far tighter affair as Ford and Gopperth exchanged penalties before Daly added a drop goal on 70 minutes. However, Bath failed to capitalise when momentum swung briefly their way.
And when Rokoduguni was binned eight minutes from time for deliberately knocking down a pass as Wasps pressed.
Gopperth then inspired the knock-out blow. The fly-half weaved inside Guy Mercer and then past the out-stretched hands of Max Lahif before handing Leiua an easy finish.
Bath were held up over the line but Wasps had the win wrapped up, despite fumbling a late chance at a bonus point.
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