By Peter Snow's Swingometer
April 11 2004

London Wasps host Gloucester in the fourth Heineken Cup quarter final on Sunday. The last match to garner as many square inches of hot metal as this one in England was also between these two teams: the Zurich Championship final last May -- a resounding 39-3 win for the Londoners. Three quarter final matches are done and dusted with one to go. Biarritz and Toulouse took their place in the semi-final without being stretched too much and they shall be Bourdeaux-bound in a fortnight. Munster won a ferocious scrap 37-32 at Thomond Park in Limerick against Stade Français. The French side so well known to Wasps clawed their way back to within a score but just lost out at Munster's inpregnable home in a game fit to be the final.

Now the focus falls on the all-English quarter. While the pundits will be harking back to Gloucester's no-show against London Wasps at Twickenham, all the players will be motivated by is the urge to get to Dublin for a shot at the final. History is for yesterday's man, for if Gloucester glanced at their record on Wasps' soil they would be mightily uncomfortable. In league matches, it is played 15, lost the lot.

Home league matches Wasps v. Gloucester Pl.15 W15 D0 L0

ZP    Fr 21 Nov 2003 W 20-12 Causeway  
ZP    Su 26 Oct 2002 W 23-16 Adams Pk 
ZP    We 10 Apr 2002 W 44-9  Loftus Rd 
ZP    Su 17 Sep 2000 W 43-23 Loftus Rd 
ADP   Su 26 Sep 1999 W 30-26 Loftus Rd 
TBCSF Su  4 Apr 1999 W 35-21 Loftus Rd 
ADP   Su 27 Dec 1998 W 23-9  Loftus Rd 
ADP   Su 11 Jan 1998 W 26-20 Loftus Rd 
CCC   Su  9 Mar 1997 W 36-10 Loftus Rd 
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
CCC   Sa 30 Mar 1996 W 21-10 Sudbury 
CCC   Sa 10 Sep 1994 W 45-8  Sudbury 
CCC   Sa  8 Jan 1994 W 29-18 Sudbury 
CCC   Sa 24 Oct 1992 W 14-9  Sudbury 
CCC   Sa 20 Oct 1990 W 14-9  Sudbury 
CCC   Sa 14 Oct 1989 W 29-4  Sudbury 

In knockout matches, though, they have fared a little better:

Wasps v. Gloucester Pl.5 W3 D0 L2

ZPF   Sa 31 May 2003 W 39-3  Twickenham
ZPQF  Su 29 Apr 2001 W 18-6  Loftus Rd
PCrd3 Sa 27 Jan 1990 L  x-y Sudbury (where x < y)
JPC/CCC     Feb 1988 W 24-13 Kingsholm
JPCQF           1976 L  3-13 Sudbury

This season's form book is somewhat the reverse of last season's as Wasps are 13 points clear of our rivals. Wasps' advantage comes largely from Gloucester's patchy form away from home. They have lost six out of ten away from Kingsholm. However, before Wasps get too carried away, they have completed the double over both Harlequins and Leicester!

Gloucester's last defeat came at the hands of Sale two weeks ago when they were comprehensively beaten 38-20. Last week they overcame Saracens 16-8 in front of Sky's cameras. This performance hardly hints at what they are capable of but Nigel Melville will point to international call-ups and lack of a coherent season this time round. It could also be a cunning ploy by our former boss.

Wasps, on the other hand, have been building up momentum since our last defeat way back on 8 November last year at Welford Road (save for the unseemly and ill-thought-out B-team loss in the Powergen Cup). Our international players have slotted back in almost seamlessly as we build towards tackling the final hurdles of this season. Well come, Gloucester!

Speaking of Mellie, our old friend skirted over the raison d'être for his leaving London Wasps in the Guardian on Thursday, before going on to state the brutal reality of this encounter. It is a "cut-throat" business. His charges will be ready!

He also mentions the recent presence of John Mitchell in the Castle Grim camp and elements of the press are making something of this. However, it is neither a canard or a red herring -- Mitch has worked with Mellie over a number of years and they have remained in regular contact. Our forwards will remember Mitch for tightening a few nuts and bolts. They will also fondly recall the parable of when a certain Kiwi tyro attempted to destroy an unpadded scrummaging machine -- the best laid plans . . .

Several weeks have passed since the last round of Heineken Cup games, and what a round that was. The introduction of bonus points this season added spice to the proceedings . . .

Failure to prepare for these variables left our opponents, Perpignan, facing the almost impossible task of scoring four tries against us in order to go through (following defeats at London Wasps and Celtic Warriors). This forced them into an amorphous frenzy as we fronted up. Ultimately, the added pressure on them gave us the space and possession to turn the screw in the second half. It was the London outfit which scored four tries during an ice-cool demolition and the final minute score by Lawrence Dallaglio handed us second seeding, and not third . . .

Concomitantly, Gloucester had negotiated Munster far better this term and were hoping to finish above them in their pool. A home quarter final was looking good for the Cherry and Whites. Then, just eight minutes from time in Limerick, the Munstermen bagged their fourth try against Bourgoin and they shuffled ahead of Gloucester to top their pool. Munster grabbed third seeding sending Gloucester packing to the Lost Causeway as seventh seeds.

Two bonus, fell-swoops handed us a home tie against our old friends from Gloucester. Munster would host our old foes, Stade Français.

What of Gloucester? Their form has been poor of late but their European form is good. Like ourselves they won five out of six pool games. A look at our respective Premiership statistics shows a marked similarity in most aspects of the game but Gloucester have an overwhelming edge at the line-out (both in terms of their own throw and their opponent's). Alex Brown, late of Bristol, is largely responsible by securing or stealing ball at the front of the line.

Wasps have the edge in defence and in ball-winning at the breakdowns. This is the an area that Goucester will look to circumvent through swift ball-handling, attacking with width and depth or grubbing/chipping when appropriate. If and only if they get enough ball . . .

For Wasps tend not to kick but aim to set a fast-rucking tempo to suck opponents in and then either exploit the resulting space or simply wear the opposing pack down.

However, if we allow Duncan MacRae and Henry Paul what Shaun Edwards calls "think-time" then they will attempt to emulate Celtic Warriors and Harlequins by kicking over or through our back-line to throttle our forward progress.

Like the Zurich Championship finale, this match will boil down to fitness and controlled aggression. Wasps' aim is to step up a level. Tellingly, our European line-out statistics are better than Gloucester's (something to attack further!) but our scrummaging is five points weaker and, of late, has looked distinctly shaky. Cause for hope for both teams then . . .

The stage is set. Sudden death and a semi-final against the mighty Munster in Dublin beckons for one of the teams. League form and home advantage suggests it should be London Wasps' day. The hotel is already booked -- forward planning or arrogance?

The press has mentioned Warren Gatland's and Rob Howley's notions of our being the "best club in the world!" Arrogance? Fanciful? Or just a plain statement of our best intent (not yet realised)? Contextually it must be the latter case, but one can be sure Gloucester (and others) will misconstrue the notion to their own ends. All's fair in love and sport . . .

Team news: London Wasps recall Martin Purdy to the bench in place of George Skivington; Jon Goodridge has failed a fitness test and Riaan van der Berg comes back in.

The old swingometer suggests Gloucester shall step up a level but so shall Wasps. It'll be mighty close -- Wasps by five.

The teams:

London Wasps: 15 Mark Van Gisbergen, 14 Josh Lewsey, 13 Fraser Waters, 12 Stuart Abbott, 11 Tom Voyce, 10 Alex King, 9 Rob Howley, 1 Craig Dowd, 2 Trevor Leota, 3 Will Green, 4 Simon Shaw, 5 Richard Birkett, 6 Joe Worsley, 7 Paul Volley, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio (Capt.)

Bench: 16 Tim Payne, 17 Mark Lock, 18 Ben Gotting, 19 Martin Purdy, 20 Harvey Biljon, 21 Mark Denney, 22 Ayoola Erinle

Gloucester: 15 Riaan Van Der Berg; 14 Marcel Garvey, 13 Terry Fanolua, 12 Henry Paul, 11 James Simpson-Daniel; 10 Duncan McRae, 9 Andy Gomarsall; 1 Trevor Woodman, 2 Chris Fortey, 3 Phil Vickery, 4 Adam Eustace, 5 Alex Brown, 6 Jake Boer (Capt.), 7 Andy Hazell, 8 Junior Paramore

Bench: 16 Delarey Du Preez, 17 Rodrigo Roncero, 18 Andy Deacon, 19 Mark Cornwell, 20 Peter Buxton, 21 Simon Amor, 22 Robert Todd

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