Wasps Vs Leinster

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

 I do understand some of the positivity and agree with parts.

Carr was excellent.
Engine room really strong, with both Mathews and Rowlands getting through a lot of work
Morris had a good game
Robson mostly good although it's the box kicking he'll need to improve to persuade Eddie Jones he's the one
Sopoaga looking more threatening and incisive
Gaby made a really difference, great feet and always making metres, great to see him back.
Camp was strong and industrious as we've already come to expect from him

Happy with all of that but also some really worrying stuff again
Being content because we scored some tries in what was otherwise a spanking at home makes little sense to me. As others have said, Ster didn't really get much out of first gear, or need to
So many basic penalties, killed ourselves off.
Really bad handling
Poor under the high ball
Poor back 3, Basset fine but he's not someone who creates from nothing.
...and we simply conceded a lot of points at home.

I get that we played a very good side today but it doesn't explain the basic errors


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[RBB]

I am content with that performance, not happy because we lost but content in the way we played. I didn't feel there was a player today who didn't make an effort or put a shift in. Leinster are the best club side in the Northern Hemisphere at the moment. They are a supremely talented outfit and after a ropey first twenty five minutes we grew into the game. I agree with the comments regarding the players that have been called out in earlier comments. I thought Matthews was much improved today, and Campo was excellent. ED was not on his game and looks nervous but that is no surprise as the Sarries noise is not going away, I don't feel his form will return till the matter is settled. Rob Miller stepped up as did Gaby and the combination with Watson was first class.

What was stressed even more today, without Launch we are a bit of a rudderless ship, when he went off we did okay but I feel we would have been even better had his leadership been stamped on the game. I expect us to be a far better unit post 6N.

[mike909]

I am content with that performance, not happy because we lost but content in the way we played. I didn't feel there was a player today who didn't make an effort or put a shift in. Leinster are the best club side in the Northern Hemisphere at the moment. They are a supremely talented outfit and after a ropey first twenty five minutes we grew into the game. I agree with the comments regarding the players that have been called out in earlier comments. I thought Matthews was much improved today, and Campo was excellent. ED was not on his game and looks nervous but that is no surprise as the Sarries noise is not going away, I don't feel his form will return till the matter is settled. Rob Miller stepped up as did Gaby and the combination with Watson was first class.

What was stressed even more today, without Launch we are a bit of a rudderless ship, when he went off we did okay but I feel we would have been even better had his leadership been stamped on the game. I expect us to be a far better unit post 6N.

Agree with all that, Daly has looked confidence free since playing FB for England in SA and the AIs

Ref had the right approach to the breakdown, which was nice, I though he was a little leaning towards Leinster, but as a Wasps, I would! Especially offside and forward passes. Made no odds and generally kept pace in the game.

Thought our scrum looked good again. Front row v decent indeed.

Defence looked better organised a lot of the time too

Does anyone know if the Rugby Cup games are on TV?

[BG]

I am content with that performance, not happy because we lost but content in the way we played. I didn't feel there was a player today who didn't make an effort or put a shift in. Leinster are the best club side in the Northern Hemisphere at the moment. They are a supremely talented outfit and after a ropey first twenty five minutes we grew into the game. I agree with the comments regarding the players that have been called out in earlier comments. I thought Matthews was much improved today, and Campo was excellent. ED was not on his game and looks nervous but that is no surprise as the Sarries noise is not going away, I don't feel his form will return till the matter is settled. Rob Miller stepped up as did Gaby and the combination with Watson was first class.

What was stressed even more today, without Launch we are a bit of a rudderless ship, when he went off we did okay but I feel we would have been even better had his leadership been stamped on the game. I expect us to be a far better unit post 6N.

Agree with all that, Daly has looked confidence free since playing FB for England in SA and the AIs

Ref had the right approach to the breakdown, which was nice, I though he was a little leaning towards Leinster, but as a Wasps, I would! Especially offside and forward passes. Made no odds and generally kept pace in the game.

Thought our scrum looked good again. Front row v decent indeed.

Defence looked better organised a lot of the time too

Does anyone know if the Rugby Cup games are on TV?

The "Rugby" Cup? Do you mean the Premiership cup games?

What was interesting at half time was a skills test competion with Wasps U18 v Leeds Carnegie U18 (either that or young academy players).

So do Wasps and Leeds have some sort of link up given that Jacob plays there a lot?

[Raggs]

Pendlebury was their academy manager and is now ours.

[mike909]

The "Rugby" Cup? Do you mean the Premiership cup games?

Yeah - I guess, the BBC Fixtures have them as "Premiership Rugby Cup" next weekend, if I'm not off to a Div 2 South game, something from the sofa might be needed!

[NellyWellyWaspy]

For me it looked like Daly was more interested in finishing the game without injury than competing for the ball. His eyes were on the approaching Leinster player rather than the ball. He made no attempt to jump and catch the ball. His ball in hand decisions were often poor. His field kicks were abysmal. He just didn't seem to be there. Right now, a fit Neal would get the winger slot over Daly any day of the week. Eddie was there to see. On this form, Daly will not get another England shirt to pull on.

I actually would not have an issue if we released Daly from his contract right now, without compensation from him, or his 'new' club. At least we would save on his wages.

Going forwards, we must expect that either Umaga gets offered a main squad contract at 15, or we announce a quality 15 coming in. And we need at least two wingers from somewhere.

Discussing this after the game (and at half time with other ST holders around us), we are really missing Jimmy. It is clear to me that he is the play maker. Without him we are lost. MLB, as good as he is, is not (yet) a playmaker. Should Sopoaga be? No sign of that yet. But he did (to me) have a much better game today. His kicking worries me though. The restarts too long (or has he been told to kick them there by the coaches?), the field kicks not good enough.

Maybe Umaga can be our playmaker, but we need one desperately.

Hampson had a good game for the 10 minutes he was on. Lightning fast and accurate. Most unlike him.

Sadly, Miller had a poor game. No shine or flair.

Lovobalavu was back to his best (but still lost the ball in contact).

Simpson was also warming up before the game, so expect him back very soon.

Our scrum gave Leinster a run for its money, except at the breakdown and the maul. Proud of them all.

In the first 30 minutes, we were totally dominated, in terms of possession and territory. We coughed the ball up, gave penalties away.

In the end, the score flattered us. But, we did far better than I expected against what would be close to the Irish national side. I wouldn't mind betting that England will fare no better.

I wonder how bad the concussion was that Joe suffered.

My MOTM was Cruse. How many 80 minutes stints can that man be asked to pull?

[Heathen]

Joe passed his HIA but his neck stiffened up, so it was decided not to risk him.

[Vespula Vulgaris]

Joe passed his HIA but his neck stiffened up, so it was decided not to risk him.

I must admit I thought the HIA was a bit of a stretch. He took a nasty neck flexion, but didn't seem to get much of a blow to the head.

I thought at the time they used the HIA to get him off for a proper assessment of his neck.

[Tervueren]

For me it looked like Daly was more interested in finishing the game without injury than competing for the ball. His eyes were on the approaching Leinster player rather than the ball. He made no attempt to jump and catch the ball. His ball in hand decisions were often poor. His field kicks were abysmal. He just didn't seem to be there. Right now, a fit Neal would get the winger slot over Daly any day of the week. Eddie was there to see. On this form, Daly will not get another England shirt to pull on.

I actually would not have an issue if we released Daly from his contract right now, without compensation from him, or his 'new' club. At least we would save on his wages.

Going forwards, we must expect that either Umaga gets offered a main squad contract at 15, or we announce a quality 15 coming in. And we need at least two wingers from somewhere.

Discussing this after the game (and at half time with other ST holders around us), we are really missing Jimmy. It is clear to me that he is the play maker. Without him we are lost. MLB, as good as he is, is not (yet) a playmaker. Should Sopoaga be? No sign of that yet. But he did (to me) have a much better game today. His kicking worries me though. The restarts too long (or has he been told to kick them there by the coaches?), the field kicks not good enough.

Maybe Umaga can be our playmaker, but we need one desperately.

Hampson had a good game for the 10 minutes he was on. Lightning fast and accurate. Most unlike him.

Sadly, Miller had a poor game. No shine or flair.

Lovobalavu was back to his best (but still lost the ball in contact).

Simpson was also warming up before the game, so expect him back very soon.

Our scrum gave Leinster a run for its money, except at the breakdown and the maul. Proud of them all.

In the first 30 minutes, we were totally dominated, in terms of possession and territory. We coughed the ball up, gave penalties away.

In the end, the score flattered us. But, we did far better than I expected against what would be close to the Irish national side. I wouldn't mind betting that England will fare no better.

I wonder how bad the concussion was that Joe suffered.

My MOTM was Cruse. How many 80 minutes stints can that man be asked to pull?

Agree about ED today, offered nothing and avoided lots, might as well forget him for now until matters are decided.

Cruse is immense, how does he do it?

On the whole,  not bad, areas to improve but not a disaster. Actually played like a team.

If they had not scored more points than us we might have won:-)

[Tervueren]

It was also good to be able to show some appreciation to the team after the match when the came out to greet the supporters. But they seemed to be wearing Leinster kit.

The black and gold wearing team seem to think that their supporters are stationed just around the way on to the pitch, then scurry off quick.

[Rossm]

Why was a Pro 14 referee in charge today. Lots of chats with the team he knew heard on ref link. Puzzled.

I quite agree. Not that it had anything to do with the result but Leinster and the ref were very chummy. He probably didn't know most of our players' names.

[westwaleswasp]

Most of the positives were in the forwards, with Campagnaro and perhaps Robson the exception amongst the starters in the backs. I think it is hard to judge the game as it was a dead rubber. I would be wary of drawing conclusions. I would tentatively suggest people are so keen to see the real Lima that they are seeing shadows in the wind these past few games, his performance was not bad again, but I did not see much in the way of positive either. The point about needing a playmaker is interesting, it certainly looks that way, the backs lack vision, it would seem that we are short this of playmaking options. I would love to have Jimmy back for a long time; if the Sops and Gops show clicks this year we can look forward. If it flops it might indicate a deeper issue. Many put Lima's start down to late arrival, then constantly changing centres, and specifically a lack of Dan and Jimmy. A prolonged stint with preferred options in harness might give us more insight.


I am sure Daly will stay for the rest of the year. If we were to release him early it might unsettle Sarries' players dropped for him, and there are a couple I actually rather like, but for a player to leave a la Yarde, they have to do more than just have a bad game.

[RBB]

This narrative from Bobby Bridge at The Coventry Evening Telegraph about sums ED up at the moment. on reflection I thought about his performance at the weekend, he was the only player who didn't look to me to be committed to the cause.

'5. Daly displays; the British Lion has played in 10 of Wasps' last 13 top-tier games and once more struggled to make a positive impact. His last try in Black and Gold was over 12 hours of rugby ago.

While there was plenty of endeavour, effort and application and no question of his professionalism, being stripped by Rhys Ruddock when surging into the 22 and his fizzed pass into touch behind Josh Bassett, also in the second half, have sadly become unwanted hallmarks of his game of late, rather than those rocket-like bursts through defences or unstoppable arching runs to the line. When did we last see BT Sports cameras pan on him to reveal a smile?

Those familiar traits of late, set in the murky context of Saracens suspicions, offer little scope for leniency from Wasps supporters. Many of whom took to social media to voice their displeasure, some even suggesting that senior academy winger Callum Sirker be given a chance to shine in his place.

Daly's attentions now turn to the Six Nations with the Portugal training camp starting this week. A fresh environment and challenge could be the catalyst needed to break the long-serving back's scratchy form. So would some clarification over whether he will be turning up for training this summer at Broadstreet RFC under the watchful eyes of Dai Young or at Old Albanians RFC before Mark McCall's scrutiny.'

[Rossm]

Yes. This really ought to be sorted out one way or another. Don't know why there hasn't been an announcement yet. As I posted elsewhere, I believe there must be still some haggling going on and it is not quite as cut and dried as we have been lead to believe. Elliot is clearly distracted. On this form he shouldn't be anywhere near an England jersey. This affair could well affect his WC place.