Half An Hour to Go - Match Thread

[Rifleman Harris]

Fitness definitely key, both physical and mental, in getting 80 minutes of high intensity. 

Don't think the final is that significant because our intensity wasn't there for the first 3 games of this season, which were a bit like pre-season after a bit of a break.

However Lee mentioned knowing what a champion team looks like and his adaptability will combine our swashbuckling approach with more pragmatism so we get the best of both worlds.

I agree with all of this, but I do wonder if the final actually had a negative effect as the players had to pick themselves up after that loss to start another long season with little rest or time to recover mentally.  Add to that the disruption due to the internationals where several key voices in the dressing room were absent and others were there, then not there, then there again.  It shouldn't be underestimated how much this could delay the healing of mental scars from the final.  Once the squad was fully back together, settled and with time since the final the squad are playing more like they were in the run in at the end of last season. 

[mike909]

I agree with all of this, but I do wonder if the final actually had a negative effect as the players had to pick themselves up after that loss to start another long season with little rest or time to recover mentally.  Add to that the disruption due to the internationals where several key voices in the dressing room were absent and others were there, then not there, then there again.  It shouldn't be underestimated how much this could delay the healing of mental scars from the final.  Once the squad was fully back together, settled and with time since the final the squad are playing more like they were in the run in at the end of last season.

+1
I think the lack of time away, the Autumn Cup stuff and the need to "get up" and injuries etc would all contribute to a slower than ideal start. Margins are v small - you don't have to be playing badly to lose.....Saints showed that!

[WonkyWasp]

Excellent (I'm not biased - much)  article in Sports Section of the D. Tel  today,  plus Team of the Week (including  Josh, Joe, James and Tom Willis)  and Player of the Week -  Joe.

[Horusthewasp]

I rewatched the match last night and had to comment on the impressive passage of play that took place from the 59th minute when Wasps were camped in Exeter’s red zone for a solid 10 minutes. The intensity in attack was unrelenting with wave after wave of attack. Credit to Exeter for throwing everything into their defence but they ended up conceding 7+ penalties and got a yellow as Wasps kept piling on the pressure. Even when Wasps made handling errors they recovered well including a turnover on Exeter’s own try line. The only mishap was when T Willis slightly mistimed the pick & go (64:52) and got absolutely clattered by the Exeter pack. How that guy didn’t end up in A&E I don’t know (one tough kid). The unrelenting pressure by the Wasps’ pack did ultimately pay off with McIntyre getting his first try of the game but what an incredible team effort.

Really recommend rewatching those 10 minutes ... quite the spectacle.

[hookender]

I wonder if wasps would have had the patience,discipline and tenacity had a normal crowd been there? Can you imagine the noise and shouts for them to go wide ?

[Horusthewasp]

I wonder if wasps would have had the patience,discipline and tenacity had a normal crowd been there? Can you imagine the noise and shouts for them to go wide ?

You’re absolutely right ... patience is not a virtue of supporters!

Besides the intensity of that passage, I thought it was 1) good game management to close out the last quarter (eating half of the remaining time) and 2) turning the tables on Exeter in their very own game. How often are we told about their effectiveness once in the red zone.

[RogerE]

According to someone I was talking to on Zoom yesterday "if you had told a non-Rugby fan about the way Wasps and Exeter usually try to play, and then showed them the match they would have thought Wasps were Exeter"

[BarossaD]

I rewatched the match last night and had to comment on the impressive passage of play that took place from the 59th minute when Wasps were camped in Exeter’s red zone for a solid 10 minutes. The intensity in attack was unrelenting with wave after wave of attack. Credit to Exeter for throwing everything into their defence but they ended up conceding 7+ penalties and got a yellow as Wasps kept piling on the pressure. Even when Wasps made handling errors they recovered well including a turnover on Exeter’s own try line. The only mishap was when T Willis slightly mistimed the pick & go (64:52) and got absolutely clattered by the Exeter pack. How that guy didn’t end up in A&E I don’t know (one tough kid). The unrelenting pressure by the Wasps’ pack did ultimately pay off with McIntyre getting his first try of the game but what an incredible team effort.

Really recommend rewatching those 10 minutes ... quite the spectacle.

Took your recommendation and rewatched 59-70 today. What a phenomenal effort - by both teams to be fair, but fantastic patience and pressure from Wasps won out. Onward and upward

[RogerE]

Just watched match again - especially passage mentioned above.

At the end saw how pleased Derek was, but someone should tell him that a mask should be worn with nose covered