By Big Dave
November 6 2005

Wasps 21 – Bristol 16 Bristol performed creditably to emerge from this floodlit tussle in High Wycombe with a bonus point, Wasps deservedly (just) running out winners by 21 points to 16. The visitors made the brightest of starts when Mark Regan, rapidly endearing himself to an initially sceptical Bristol public, powered over from short range after ten minutes. Strange added the conversion to cheers from the vocal travelling support.

This was no flash in the pan, as Bristol’s forwards began to take a grip of the game. Gareth Llewellyn stood out in the line out, while Salter and El-Abd were prominent in attack and defence. A key player in Bristol’s cause, however, was Geraint Lewis. He showed some lovely touches to keep the ball moving forward and was at the heart of many of Bristol’s forays into opposition territory.

The pressure told in the twenty fifth minute when, not for the first time, a maul went down, and Strange kicked the resulting penalty to put Bristol 0-10 up. King got Wasps off the mark with a penalty of his own. Strange responded following a high tackle to make it 3-13, but then Wasps found themselves with a greater opportunity to claw their way back into the game.

Sam Cox received a yellow card for tripping and Wasps made the extra man tell as Tom Rees scored after shrugging off two tacklers. King missed the conversion, leaving the score at the break at 8-13.

Cox did not return from the sin bin, and Mark Denney took his place at half time. Wasps narrowed Bristol’s lead through King’s boot to make it 11-13. Bristol, looking less confident than in the first half, continued to press, but were then undone by perhaps the match’s turning point.

From a messy scrum in their own 22, Dallaglio managed to rescue the ball and flipped it to Tom Voyce on the left wing. The ex-Bath man raced upfield, cutting inside the Bristol defenders, and scorched his way to the line for a magnificent try.

Should England’s attack be as ponderous in coming week’s as was the Lions’ this summer, then perhaps Andy Robinson should look more closely at Voyce, along with his team mate Tom Rees, who were outstanding amongst some below par bigger Wasps’ names.

King’s conversion made it 18-13, and Wasps were not to relinquish the lead. Strange, who kicked superbly all night, cut the deficit with a further penalty. David Lemi came close with a trademark chip and chase, and did run the ball from effectively deep on two occasions, but King kept Wasps ahead with another three points. 21-16 left Bristol with a bonus point and on balance was probably a fair result.

Bristol will be disappointed that they couldn’t beat a Wasps side who looked lethargic and uninspired. Alex King, especially, seemed to have very little idea about how to vary his game. Continually kicking down the throat of Vaughan Going, who proved himself a safe pair of hands, provided little entertainment for the crowd and brought few benefits for his team.

Also, Bristol’s supposedly weaker pack had the better of their more illustrious opponents for large parts of the match. However, the talent of Rees and Voyce saw Wasps home. With a raft of internationals to return, they will no doubt improve as the season progresses.

For Bristol, there were many positives. They were competitive in all phases of the game and provided the majority of the creative play.

Bristol’s league season has been largely been characterised by close matches. While a bonus point away to Wasps has to be seen as a point gained, Richard Hill will know that Bristol have to turn more close defeats into victories if Bristol are to remain the Premiership. Next week’s home game with Leeds has that ‘must win’ feel about it.