By MarkC (03/06/03)
June 6 2003

As one who was there, courtesy of Zurich Rugby Club, I make the following observations: It was as if a large part of Gloucestershire had decamped from the West Country and taken over SW London.

As one got closer to Twickenham, the concentration of Cherry and White became noticeably thicker around the streets and, of course, the bars. Occasionally there would be a pocket of black and gold, but these pockets were rarer. It was to be the Glaws big day out, the formality of turning up and picking up the trophy, and yet....

Virtually all the Gloucester supporters I spoke to had an undercurrent of nervousness to their tone. The biggest gripe was that they had to be there at all; surely, winning the league should have been enough? And yes, it was also mentioned about the lack of match practice, whilst their opponents Wasps were coming in from the back of two big back-to-back wins. This point was also picked up by group of Wasps fans I travelled in from Waterloo with, they were relaxed and confident knowing that they were in a no-lose situation. "

"Nobody outside of Wycombe will call us champions if we win", said one Wasp, "But everybody knew what they were playing towards at the start of the season."

I have to admit that I was backing Wasps to win this game, for me they were never in doubt after their big win at Sale a month or so ago.

Inside the impressive stadium, we stood with the Gloucester fans to cheer in their team from the coach. Every player got their own cheer, and all responded with a nod or a wave. During the pre-match warm-up Junior Paramore even went over to chat to some fans and sign autographs, they appeared to be that relaxed. And yet...

The players came out to start the match, and Twickenham erupted. Once more, it seemed that Kingsholme had transplanted itself in Twickenham. The pockets of Wasps fans could barely be heard amongst the West Country battle cries... it was the last time this was to happen, though, as the match kicked off... Already dazed by the fact that Trevor Woodman had failed a last-minute fitness test, Gloucester fans could not believe the way that they crumbled from the initial Wasps onslaught, to the early Josh Lewsey try, and on and on...

I'll not write a match report here, suffice to say that Wasps were so superior to Gloucester that they simply snuffed them out in every department. (Except defence, as Gloucester so rarely threatened Wasps that they never gave the London tacklers a chance to shine!). The forwards were vastly superior to the men in red, both in scrum and lineout. Rob Howley showed why his early retirement from the Welsh national side is so costly to them, and his partnership with Alex King at times bordered on the telepathic. Josh Lewsey proved once his rejuvenation following his England recall, adding another first-half try to his earlier score. With King giving Mercier a lesson in kicking, the match was won by half time as all Gloucester could manage was a solitary penalty score from the Frenchman. In fact, at times it was hard to decide whether Wasps were winning the game or Gloucester were losing it; I have never seen so many basic handling errors from the league leaders. The pre-match predictions regarding the lack of match practice were becoming ominously true...

The second half was more of the same, really, frustration was creeping into the Gloucester side, and the match was over when Gomersall was sin-binned at the start of the half for throwing a punch. I felt sorry for the England man, nothing had gone well for his side, he had been given a master class in the art of the scrum-half by the evergreen Howley, and the ever present Wasps tactic of playing right to the limits of the law proved to be the final straw for him. As the half progressed, the Wasps fans made their selves heard as the Gloucester supporters looked on in stunned silence. Worsley took another try for the London side, and added to the peerless kicking from King this gave Wasps the chance to give everybody on their bench a game. On the other hand Gloucester, despite their break, seemed unable to cope with the heat and cramp appeared to take its toll. Mercier (amongst others) leaving the field early from his last appearance for the Cherry and Whites in a manner he’d not wanted. And talking of early departures, the exits of the stadium filled with a growing stream of Gloucester supporters leaving before the final whistle was blown.

My conclusions on the day? I was not a fan of the play-off before the match, but I have to say that Wasps took the task in hand by the scruff of the neck and proved that by the end of the season they had become the form side. The manner of their win was awesome, and if they can recreate this form in the Heineken Cup next season then they’ll do the ZP proud. I felt for Gloucester, but as their coach Nigel Melville said they knew the rules and what they were playing for. Unfortunately it was just a game to far for them. I only hope that their back-room troubles are behind them now and that next season they can o their selves and their fanatical supporters justice. To break up their set-up now would be very sad. I also availed myself of the Reflink facility at the game. I was very impressed by it and I hope that it is something that comes to Headingley next season. I was also very impressed by the way that referee Tony Spreadbury handled the game, mixing together common sense, humour, and laying down the law when needed.

Oh yes, one other thing, if you ever sit in the East Stand at Twickenham on a sunny May afternoon, for God’s sake wear shorts and take some sun-tan lotion!!!

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