Wasps have finally found their sting
REACTION: Wasps director of rugby Dai Young was delighted to see his side finally get rewarded with a victory as Nizaam Carr’s late try handed them a dramatic 26-21 win over Bristol.
The two-time European champions had won only one of their first six Premiership games but Young did not feel his team had been far away from getting over the line.
They outscored their opponents by four tries to two at Ashton Gate as Jacob Umaga, Malakai Fekitoa and Matteo Minozzi all crossed before Carr produced the late fireworks, with Umaga also booting three conversions.
Charles Piutau and Harry Thacker scored Bristol’s tries as Callum Sheedy kicked three penalties and a conversion.
“Obviously everyone has been throwing stones at us but we feel we haven’t been far away in most games this season,” said Young.
“We haven’t been well beaten in many of our games but we haven’t been dealing with the sticky moments in those games
“I thought we thoroughly deserved to win as we left a few points out there.
“I’m really pleased for the boys as they didn’t panic tonight and our defence held up very well.”
Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam was frustrated by his side’s performance and described Wasps as ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’.
“Wasps are a good side and we warned that if we gave them a chance to kick-start the season they would take it and that’s exactly what happened,” he said.
“We didn’t fire a shot in the first half which was probably our worst half of the season as we couldn’t get our game going as we conceded eight turnovers.
“The ball was slippery and we kept trying to force it so we did well to get ahead and lead 3-0 at half-time.
“Then we go and give them four tries because our defensive systems failed, which is disappointing as that has been one of our strong points so far this season.
“Anyone can beat anyone in this league if you are not playing right and rugby is all about guys doing their jobs correctly but we coughed up too much ball.
“We showed good character to hang in there but as in our last home game against London Irish, we had the lead with less than two minutes remaining but we failed to keep it, which is extremely disappointing and a big letdown for the fans who are turning up to support us.”
Source: RugbyPass
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