By Loose Head
May 5 2003

The Sale faithful were expecting more from their last league game at Heywood Road ever. But Wasps are a different team now to earlier in the season. On a rainy and windy afternoon near Manchester, Wasps secured a close but deserved win, and with it a Heineken European Cup entry for next season.

View from after the Beer Festival

Unlike a lot of rugby articles about this time, "Sale" is written with a capital "S" and does not involve Bath or Bristol. While the west country cousins were scrabbling about for, erm..for… - what exactly were they playing for? - Sale and Wasps were playing for higher stakes.

Immediately from the outset the difference in class between the top and bottom of the table was apparent. Wasps ran in six tries against Bristol, the Sale defence was streets ahead. This was a proper game.

Having said that, Wasps will be a bit disappointed that the game wasn't done and dusted in the first half. There were scoring opportunities a-plenty. A mistimed run or a poor body position against a much better defence doesn't work and ball gets turned over. We are left with the intriguing prospect of quite what will happen when everything happens as per the training ground for Wasps? Every pass going to hand, every runner picking the right line and having support runners just in the right places, every touch finder getting there. The one try was from Wasps forwards muscling the way up close to the line and Howley finding a gap that if Sale were honest shoudn't have been there. But then, that's what a quick rucking game can do.

A word has to be said about the referee, Roy Maybank. He is trying to take over from Goodliffe as the worst on the planet. There is a catalogue of astounding decisions and non-decisions that would seem like whinging. Luckily on Sale's best attempt at a try the ball was lost as the prostrate player's arm looped over to score. This was right under Maybank's nose so he could hardly miss it. He did however in the previous 20 seconds miss a Sale knock-on, and a pick up and drive straight into another Sale player loitering. Both leading to the almost try. If the score had happened it would have been an absolute travesty. Maybank's incompetence remains intact and unchecked.

Sale were kept in check thanks to very close supervision. The way Wasps handle rucks with alternating hit-squads of 2 or 3 means that there are always people standing off to outnumber the opposition. Robinson was closed down early and often. He was playing at outside centre, where many people say he should. He was closed down very quickly which he didn't like at all and which caused sliced clearance kicks. When the ball came out of the ruck to him he found Wasps in the defensive line in numbers. With no obvious route to do what he had intended, Robinson dithers I'm afraid.

Dallaglio against Pontypridd caused huge problems with his runs off the back of scrums. He showed against a much better back row that he could do the same. He is playing his best rugby for a long time. The pack as a whole is a few orders of magnitude better than earlier in the season. Their strength and fitness shows. It also helps that the lineout is beginning to be - dare I say it? - reliable.

Birkett needs a mention. A phenomenal achievement to be out with what until recently would have been a career ending injury, and to come back into the starting line up as if he had always been there. He puts in top drawer performances in the set piece - particularly the lineout - and the loose every week.

So we say farewell to Heywood Road. Sale will be playing at the home of Stockport County football club. Sale will be feeling a bit down as for them it's not the farewell party they would have wanted. Wasps on the other hand have beaten yet another year long home record and secured a Heineken Cup spot for next year.

With Harlequins to provide us with our own end of league campaign party next weekend, a draw would secure second place and a home tie in the playoffs. But who really wants to settle for a draw against the Harley Queens?

Loose Head