By Barney Burnham
April 12 2005

When Wasps and Leicester met in their two titanic Heineken Cup struggles, before Christmas, it was the opening 20 minutes which proved crucial. In this first leg of the Zurich A League final, in front of 1,210 spectators at the Causeway Stadium, it was the final ten minutes which decided the outcome of a fiercely competitive match.

Three tries in the dying moments gave Leicester a comfortable 35-19 advantage, after the first leg of the Zurich A final, and left Wasps with a mountain to climb in the return leg on April the 25th.

Traffic chaos in the Wycombe area meant kickoff was postponed by 15 minutes and also forced a late change in the Wasps starting lineup, already ravaged by England under-19 and sevens calls.

Matt Priscott was caught up in the traffic jams, and his place on the right wing was taken by Ed Hoadley. With James Brooks, Peter Richards, Daniel Cipriani and Dominic Waldouck all on international duty, Rob Laird took the pivotal flyhalf role, with Thom Evans moving from the wing to full back.

It was Evans who secured the opening score, after eight minutes. Driving forward play by Wasps had forced Leicester to concede a series of penalties near their own line, one of which led to the sinbinning of their scrumhalf, Karl Dickson, after just six minutes.

With a penalty try looming large, Wasps won quick ball from a scrum under the posts, and Evans burst into the line to go over for a try, which Laird converted.

Leicester responded immediately, and came within a whisker of opening their account, after fullback Roger Warren's incursion into the line sent Tom Varndell clear down the left. The England under-21 winger seemed certain to score, but desperate defence forced him into the corner flag.

It was a temporary respite for Wasps, as Varndell then gathered his own delicate chip to touch down in the same corner.

Warren couldn't land the difficult conversion, and flyhalf Ross Broadfoot then missed a kickable penalty, before scoring the try which put the visitors ahead.

A Wasps clearance kick bounced awkwardly for Varndell and Warren, a few metres outside their 22. Hoadley then failed to gather the ball, and Varndell pounced on to it, to send Broadfoot racing away for a breakaway try in the corner. Warren was again off target with the conversion, but he stretched the lead to 13-7, nine minutes before the break, when an intervention by both touch judges saw a Wasps penalty reversed and Henry Nwume sinbinned for punching.

14-man Wasps then responded with a thrilling try, from a move started by Evans, inside his own 22. His pass sent James Wellwood - playing his first game after four weeks out of action with a groin strain - streaking down the left wing.

Fifteen metres from Leicester's line, with Mike Roberts at his elbow, Wellwood seemed to have mistimed his pass, but a combination of footwork and power sent the winger over for a magnificent score in the corner - his 11th try of the season. Laird narrowly missed the conversion, making the score 13-12.

The first half ended with Leicester camped on the Wasps line, but heroic defence, and one outstanding scrum from the seven-man pack, kept them at bay until the interval.

Wasps made one change at halftime, with Priscott replacing Hoadley. The home side nearly took the lead within seconds of the restart, after a fine break by Laird. Leicester counterattacked swiftly, and Priscott showed excellent defensive awareness to snuff out a threatening attack down the left, with a perfectly timed tackle.

Wasps were looking increasingly threatening, and they finally breached the Leicester defence with a fine try by Wellwood, after scrumhalf Warren Fury did well to turn bad lineout ball into good. He was forced to backtrack, but fed Laird, near the 10 metres line. The flyhalf's pass sent Wellwood off on a powerful, jinking run to eventually burrow over near the posts. Laird landed the simple conversion, to make the score 19-13.

In a see-saw game, both sides then had chances to score. First, Warren missed a simple penalty, after Wasps were caught offside in their own 22. At the other end, Wasps came close after Laird and Mbu combined well, before Tigers missed a clear tryscoring opportunity, set up by a powerful burst from skipper Brett Deacon

With ten minutes left, after Laird had missed a straightforward penalty attempt, Wasps were caught napping by a quick 22 restart by Leicester. The counterattack swept the length of the field, and another sweetly timed chip was gathered by Broadfoot, who sent right winger Ben Toft over in the corner, to narrow the gap to just one point.

The try which put the visitors ahead was clouded in controversy. They seemed to clearly knock the ball on, after a powerful Wasps tackle just short of the line. To the fury of the home crowd, the referee allowed play to continue as the ball bounced over the tryline, and flanker Ben Wheeler was on hand to touch down for a potentially crucial score, which Warren converted from in front of the posts.

Wasps then displayed their inexperience and seemed to forget that there was still another leg of the final to come. Rather than playing it safe, they proceeded to run the ball at all opportunities, from all positions. When James Haskell was isolated, and penalised for not releasing, Warren's long-range penalty stretched the lead to 28-19, before the final sucker punch, deep into injury time.

Another desperate counterattack was stopped inside the 22, and the ball squirted into the hands of Broadfoot, who crossed for his second try of the night. Warren's fine conversion, with the last kick of the game, rubbed salt into the wounds.

Coach Shaun Edwards was in sombre mood afterwards.
"Physically, we more than matched them - but we conceded an unacceptable number of turnovers. We showed no respect for the ball. We lost our way and kept offloading in impossible situations. Against such a strong defensive outfit, you have to build pressure, which we didn't do. We've got it all to do, but it's still only halftime."

To add to Wasps' woes, two key players went down with calf injuries. Flanker John Hart was hurt as he landed awkwardly, while making a desperate lunge for the line. Then Mike Roberts aggravated an old calf strain, as he turned sharply, inside his own 22.

Nothing's impossible, but this result means it will take every ounce of the characteristic Wasps fighting spirit to end the season as A League champions. Leicester's fat lady might not be singing just yet, but she's probably practising her scales, ahead of the 2nd leg at Welford Road, on April the 25th.