Wasps smash London Irish but remain third

Wasps scored six tries on their way to thumping London Irish 38-12 but it was not enough to earn a home semi-final in the Premiership play-offs.

Wasps outscored London Irish by six tries to two which ensured the Exiles finished their time in the Premiership on a low note.

Wasps finished their league campaign in style when they defeated relegation-bound London Irish 38-12 at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday.

Despite a positive start from Irish where Johnny Williams’ try gave them a 7-6 advantage, touchdowns via Thomas Young, Charles Piutau and Christian Wade opened up a 21-7 lead for the Coventry outfit at the break.

The Exiles managed to reduce the deficit through Alex Lewington in the second half but scores by Dan Robson, Josh Bassett and Ashley Johnson completed the victory.

Wasps were looking to gain a home semi-final in the play-offs but Exeter Chiefs’ dominant victory over Harlequins ended those hopes. Irish’s only motivation going into game, having already been relegated, was pride and they gave it a go in the opening exchanges.

Although Ruaridh Jackson kicked an early penalty for the hosts, Tom Coventry’s men were dangerous in open field. Both Fergus Mulchrone and Asaeli Tikoirotuma made incursions into opposition territory and they were rewarded with the lead after 22 minutes.

By that time, Wasps’ stand-off had given Young’s side a six-point buffer but Irish hit back through Williams, who burst across the whitewash from close range.

The home team responded to regain their advantage following a driving maul which ended in Young going over.

Unfortunately for the back-rower, that proved to be his high point of the afternoon as the director of rugby?s son was helped off the field with a leg injury.

However, that setback did not seem to hinder the Coventry-based outfit and an outstanding run by hooker Ashley Johnson resulted in Piutau touching down out wide.

Good work from Elliot Daly then allowed Wade to score Wasps’ third try and enable them to go into the interval 14 points ahead.

Perhaps thinking that the win had been secured, the hosts struggled in the second period and were penned back as Irish dominated the forward exchanges.

After 15 minutes of pressure Lewington eventually broke through, but Wasps soon re-established their control on proceedings and finished with a flourish.

Breakaway tries from Robson and Bassett effectively sealed the victory before Johnson went over for a score which was harsh on the gallant visitors.

Final Score Wasps 38 (21) London Irish 12 (7)

Scorers

Wasps
Tries – Young, Piutau, Wade, Robson, Bassett, Johnson
Pen – Jackson 2
Con – Gopperth
Drop –

London Irish
Tries – Williams, Lewington
Pen – Brophy-Clews
Con –
Drop –

Match Officials
Referee : Tom Foley (20th Premiership game).
Assistant Referees: Greg Garner & Kevin Stewart.
TMO: Stuart Terheege.

Teams

Wasps

15. Charles Piutau , 14. Christian Wade , 13. Elliot Daly , 12. Siale Piutau , 11. Josh Bassett , 10. Ruaridh Jackson , 9. Joe Simpson ,1. Matt Mullan , 2. Ashley Johnson , 3. Lorenzo Cittadini , 4. Joe Launchbury , 5. Bradley Davies , 6. James Haskell (c) , 7. Thomas Young , 8. Nathan Hughes

Replacements: 16. Edd Shervington , 17. Tom Bristow , 18. Phil Swainston , 19. Will Rowlands , 20. Sam Jones , 21. Dan Robson , 22. Jimmy Gopperth , 23. Rob Miller

London Irish

15 Greig Tonks, 14 Alex Lewington, 13 Fergus Mulchrone, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Aseli Tikoirotuma, 10 Theo Brophy Clews, 9 Brendan McKibbin, 1 Johnny Harris, 2 David Paice, 3 Ben Franks, 4 Elliott Stooke, 5 Matt Symons, 6 Luke Narraway (c), 7 Joe Trayfoot, 8 Ofisa Treviranus

Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Leo Halavatau, 18 Richard Palframan, 19 Jebb Sinclair, 20 Rob McCusker, 21 Darren Allinson, 22 Chris Noakes, 23 Ciaran Hearn