| Gallagher Premiership |
|---|
| Worcester Warriors (13) 26 |
| Tries: Mama, Lawrence Cons: Weir 2 Pens: Weir 4 |
| Wasps (5) 30 |
| Tries: Gopperth, Kibirige, Willis, Robson Cons: Searle 2 Pens: Searle 2 |
Wasps maintained their Midlands derby stranglehold on Worcester as they hung on to claim a narrow bonus-point victory at Sixways.
Marco Mama’s try and Duncan Weir’s boot put Worcester 13-5 up at the interval.
But three second-half tries from Zach Kibirige, Jack Willis and Dan Robson won it for Wasps.
Ollie Lawrence claimed a second Worcester try but could not prevent an 11th straight defeat for Warriors in this Premiership fixture.
Recalled Scotland stand-off Weir kicked two conversions and four penalties for a 16-point individual haul prior to heading off to report for international duty in Edinburgh, along with Warriors team-mate Cornell du Preez.
Opposite number Billy Searle, who has signed to move to Sixways for next season, kicked two of his four conversions plus two penalties.
After a game in which the lead changed hands five times, Wasps’ win, only their third in nine league games this season, lifts them up two places to eighth.
Warriors, meanwhile, at least picked up a losing bonus point – enough to keep them a place above Wasps in the table by virtue of games won, with the sides locked on 18 points each.
A game of two halves
A poor first half on the Sixways carpet was illuminated only really by a clever piece of work from Searle, who did brilliantly to scoop up a low pass from Robins and toss wide for Gopperth to run in unopposed for the game’s first try.
But, after the left-footed Searle was wide with his kick from the right touchline, Weir’s second successful penalty reclaimed Warriors’ early lead, before flanker Mama cashed in on sustained pressure to power over, Weir adding the extras to open up an eight-point half-time cushion.
Two Searle penalties in six minutes early in the second half brought it back to 13-11 and the rest of a far more absorbing second half was played out to the backdrop of there only ever being one score in it.
But Wasps had the greater cutting edge and Gopperth showed his class with a left-foot kick through into space down the right for Kibirige to race over.
Warriors then responded to Wasps flanker Willis’ close-range try when centre Lawrence did well to collect off the deck and score under the posts.
But Wasps then won it with the try of the game – and a bonus-point try too. From Kibirige’s superb chip and chase down the right, the winger collected and passed inside for the supporting Robson to score.
It still needed Wasps to survive an anxious finale, in which the hosts were camped on their line, but referee Craig Maxwell-Keys’ final penalty call of the day went the visitors’ way, and that was that.
Warriors director of rugby Alan Solomons told BBC Hereford & Worcester:
“It was a game I felt we should have won and, right at the death, I thought we were going to.
“At 26-23, we should have closed them out before they got that long-distance try.
“We badly need a break. We’re going to give everyone 10 days off now, apart from the international players, ahead of the Bath game.
“This is our first chance of a break since the season started in September – and there are still 13 Premiership games to be played.”
Wasps director of rugby Dai Young told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire:
“It was great to get a bonus point, but I was more pleased just to win. It could have gone either way, let’s be honest.
“We didn’t play quite the right game first half, but we did second half and created some good opportunities.
“We got it right until four minutes from the end when we tried every way we could to lose the game.
“Billy Searle played a good kicking game. Players leaving clubs is part and parcel of the game. But, until they take that jersey off, they’ll give their all and I had no doubt Billy would do that.”
Worcester Warriors: Shillcock; Humphreys, Lawrence, Beck, Howe; Weir, Heaney; Waller, Moulds (capt), Schonert, Bresler, Kitchener, Mama, Lewis, Du Preez.
Replacements: Taufete, Bower, Palframan, Van Velze, Dodd, Kitto, Lance, Venter.
Wasps: Minozzi; Kibirige, De Jongh, Gopperth, Bassett; Searle, Robson (co-capt); McIntyre, Taylor, Brookes, Rowlands, Gaskell, Willis, Young (co-capt), Carr.
Replacements: Oghre, Harris, Alo, Flament, Vailanu, Wolstenholme, Le Bourgeois, Miller.
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys.
