Times match report

[Heathen]

Dan Robson drop-goal dents Gloucester’s play-off ambitions

Gloucester 21 Wasps 27

Adam Hathaway The Sunday Times

Dan Robson kept his calm when the rest of Kingsholm was losing its cool to drop a 45-metre goal that kept Wasps in the hunt for top-flight European rugby next term.

On 75 minutes, with the scores level at 21 apiece, Robson returned Billy Twelvetrees’ goalline drop-out with interest to land the spoils and round off a madcap second half.

But Wasps had to endure an agonising last few moments as they turned over the ball in their own half and handed Gloucester possession. But the home lineout, who have hardly put a foot wrong all season, could not get their side over the line, and when they coughed up the ball Robson launched it into the stands.

After a turgid first period the game sparked into life and the teams were tied at 14-14 going into the final quarter. Gloucester were the first to blink when Louis Rees-Zammit was sent to the sin-bin for a deliberate knock-on and Wasps made the most of it when Robson put the fly half Charlie Atkinson away from a maul.
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A Gloucester penalty try evened things up yet again with nine minutes left before Robson’s drop-goal, Gopperth’s garnish and the agonising ending for the home side.

The former Gloucester captain Dave Sims, who died last month aged 52, had been remembered before kick-off with a minute’s applause. The former lock would have liked the way his team have gone back to their traditional strengths of a strong-mauling pack, but there was precious else for the Kingsholm faithful to applaud.

Wasps have top-eight aspirations but neither side looked capable of achieving their ambitions in a desperate first 40 minutes. The referee, Matt Carley, gave 14 penalties in a stop-start period, with ten conceded by the visitors, and he finally snapped when he sent both hookers to the sin-bin after 38 minutes of scrappy scrums. Whether he got the men responsible for the chaos is another matter, because there were also four props involved.

Two Adam Hastings penalties put Gloucester 6-0 up at the break, with Wasps having a try by Paolo Odogwu ruled out after Alfie Barbeary, who had picked the ball up at a ruck near halfway, was ruled offside.

The chance came out of the blue and so did Wasps’ first legitimate score on 44 minutes, when the wing Santiago Carreras saw Jacob Umaga run in from 70 metres after charging down his kick from a loose ball. Then Gabriel Oghre started and finished a lineout score, holding his nerve as the Wasps pack advanced.

That was 14-6 to Wasps, but Kyle Moyle cut it to 14-11 when he scored after gathering his own high ball and Hastings tied it up before the finale.

Star man: Dan Robson (Wasps).
Scorers: Gloucester: Tries Moyle (53min), Penalty try (71). Pens Hastings 3 (14, 36, 58). Wasps: Tries: Umaga (44) Oghre (51), Atkinson (65). Cons Gopperth 3. Pen Gopperth (79). Drop-goal Robson (75).

Gloucester K.Moyle; S Carreras, C Harris, M Atkinson (B Twelvetrees 46), L Rees-Zammit (sin-bin 64-74); A Hastings (T Seabrook 72), B Meehan (C Chapman 50); V Rapava-Ruskin (H Elrington 50), J Singleton (sin-bin 38-48; S Socino 67), F Balmain (K Gotovtsev 53), F Clarke,M Alemanno (A Davidson 68), J Reid (S Socino 38-48, B Morgan 53), L Ludlow (capt), R Ackermann.
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Wasps J Umaga; P Odogwu (D Frost 38-48), M Fekitoa, J Gopperth, J Bassett; C Atkinson, W Porter (D Robson 55); T West (B Harris 77), G Oghre (sin-bin 38- 48, D Frost 59 (sin-bin 72) , B Alo (E Millar-Mills 49), J Launchbury (capt), E Stooke, B Shields (V Fifita 23), J Willis, A Barbeary (T Willis 77).

Referee M Carley (RFU). Attendance 11,628.

[Neils]

And the Telegraph one -

Wasps hang on for away win against play-off chasing Gloucester

Wasps' victory puts them right in the mix for a top-eight finish and Champions Cup rugby next season
By Ben Coles, Rugby Reporter, at Kingsholm 2 April 2022 • 6:11pm


A dire first half at Kingsholm was followed by a far more entertaining second, clinched by Wasps thanks to a timely line-out steal from Vaea Fifita with the visitors pinned back in their corner and having to stop Gloucester's league-leading maul.

A penalty try from an earlier maul had drawn Gloucester level at 21-21 but Wasps impressed with their composure in the final 10 minutes - Dan Robson's long-range drop goal and a Jimmy Gopperth penalty giving them a six-point buffer. Still, they needed Fifita's impressive poach at the front of the line-out to secure a win which put Wasps right in the mix for a top-eight finish and Champions Cup rugby next season.

"We put a good performance in," said Wasps head coach Lee Blackett. "There were things today that could have taken away our energy but the leadership and maturity of the side was evident." Regarding Fifita's line-out steal, Blackett added: "He is world-class at that. That is the thing that no-one talks about, his ability in the air."

Gloucester, now seventh, had not played in the Premiership since March 12 and the signs of rust were there, with head coach George Skivington admitting that the better side won.

"We had done our homework, everything we thought they would throw at us they did, and we weren't good enough to deal with it. I don't think we were at our best if I'm honest with you."

After a snoozer of a first half where the highlight was referee Matthew Carley sin-binning both hookers for standing up in the scrum, Gloucester led 6-0 at the break.

Wasps livened things up when Santiago Carreras' chip was plucked out of the air by Jacob Umaga before running in from 70 metres out to score the opening try. Wasps soon had a second, Oghre back from his yellow card to finish off good work by the Wasps pack, converted by Gopperth for a 6-14 lead.


A napping Gloucester needed a rocket and got one from Kyle Moyle. Collecting his own high kick the full-back sprinted clear to score. When Alfie Barbeary then failed to roll away, Gloucester were level at 14-14 thanks to Hastings' third penalty.

But Louis Rees-Zammit's deliberate knock-on reduced the hosts to 14 and Wasps capitalised, setting up a maul before Robson sniped to the blindside to put Charlie Atkinson over for Wasps' third.

Needing a response, Gloucester got exactly what they wanted with a line-out in the corner. No side has scored more maul tries in the Premiership this season and it delivered once again, stopped illegally by Wasps for a Gloucester penalty try with Wasps hooker Dan Frost sin-binned for collapsing.

What followed was impressive, a drop goal by Robson splitting the posts from a mile out to restore Wasps' lead after collecting Billy Twelvetrees' goal-line dropout.

Jack Willis, easing back into his best form, pounced for a typical turnover penalty converted by Gopperth in the final minute to make it 21-27.

And yet somehow Gloucester had another chance with the clock in the red, sticking successive penalties in the corner until Fifita rose to clinch the win.
Match details

Scoring sequence: 3-0 Hastings pen, 6-0 Hastings pen, 6-5 Umaga try, 6-7 Gopperth con, 6-12 Oghre try, 6-14 Gopperth con, 11-14 Moyle try, 14-14 Hastings pen, 14-19 Atkinson try, 14-21 Gopperth con, 21-21 penalty try, 21-24 Robson drop goal, 21-27 Gopperth pen

Gloucester: K Moyle; S Carreras (T Seabrook 72), C Harris, M Atkinson (B Twelvetrees 41), L Rees-Zammit; A Hastings, B Meehan (C Chapman 50); V Rapava-Ruskin (H Elrington 50), J Singleton (S Socino 76), F Balmain (K Gotovtsev 53), F Clarke, M Alemanno (A Davidson 67), J Reid (B Morgan 53), L Ludlow (c), R Ackermann

Yellow cards: J Singleton 34, L Rees-Zammit 65

Wasps: J Umaga; P Odogwu, M Fekitoa, J Gopperth, J Bassett; C Atkinson, W Porter (D Robson 55); T West (B Harris 77), G Oghre (D Frost 59), B Alo (E Millar-Mills 49), J Launchbury (c), E Stooke, B Shields (V Fifita 23), J Willis, A Barbeary (T Willis 77)

Not used: S Spink, Z Kibirige

Yellow cards: G Oghre 34, D Frost 73

Referee: M Carley

Attendance: 11,628

[Heathen]

What did surprise me that Tom Wilis only got 3 minutes on the park.

[coddy]

Robson must of responded well to have been dropped to then get Star Man when only being on the field for 25 minutes.