Wasps 37 Harlequins 6
Wasps director of rugby Dai Young admits his side could secure an Aviva Premiership Rugby play-off berth this season after dispatching of Harlequins in confident fashion at the Ricoh Arena.
The table as it stands: Harlequins 7 points off 4th place with eight games to play pic.twitter.com/ttCQRXEwvM
— Harlequins (@QuinsRugbyUnion) February 15, 2015
After Andy Goode had kicked the hosts into a 9-0 lead, New Zealand fly-half Nick Evans replied with a three-pointer of his own to get Harlequins on the scoreboard.
But all this seemed to do was spark Wasps into action as Tom Varndell and Elliot Daly touched down in quick succession, Evans kicking another penalty just before half-time as the visitors trudged into the changing room trailing 23-6.
And that was as good as it got for Quins as Wasps were awarded two penalty tries after the interval to secure the bonus point 37-6 victory.
The maximum haul keeps Wasps fourth in the Aviva Premiership table, and while he is refusing to get carried away Young concedes his charges are exceeding his expectations.
“It was really pleasing as against Quins you can’t relax until the final whistle goes,” said Young.
“They’ve been our bogey side but today we nailed our chances early on and frustrated them so we always had the edge.
“At the start of the season, I didn’t think we were a top-four side. Our goal was to finish in the top six but the league is so close, if it goes our way we could finish fourth but you could easily finish tenth.
“To get a crowd like today is phenomenal and we really enjoy playing here. We want to make the place a fortress, winning helps, but we are fully aware of our responsibility.”
Harlequins’ day was made tougher in Coventry considering that George Robson and Jack Clifford both spent time in the sin bin.
Conor O’Shea:”We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We have to fight because it’s a tough and unforgiving league.My team wont give up fighting”
— Harlequins (@QuinsRugbyUnion) February 15, 2015
And director of rugby Conor O’Shea admits his players are suffering with confidence right now.
“Some young players are learning some harsh lessons at present and our confidence is brittle at the moment,” O’Shea said.
“It’s a tough unforgiving league but we will keep fighting. Next week’s game against Exeter is a must win for us.”
“We gave them the start they needed by conceding an easy nine points which you can’t afford to do away from home. It’s been an up and down season for us.”
Wasps: Miller; Wade, Daly, Downey, Varndell, Goode (Lozowski 72), Simpson; Mullan (McIntyre 68), Shervington (Festuccia 52), Cooper-Woolley (Cittadini 52), Davies, Myall, Jackson, Young (Gaskell 64), Hughes (Thompson 64)
Replacements not used: Bliss, Tagicakibau
Harlequins: Monye; Yarde, Hopper, Lowe, Walker (Lindsay-Hague 59); Evans, Care (Dickson 59); Lambert (Marfo 68), Gray (Ward 49), Sinckler (Adeniran-Olule 72), Matthews (Twomey 75), Robson, Trayfoot, Wallace (Talei 52), Clifford
Replacements not used: Botica
Wasps – Tries: Varndell, Daly, Penalty Try 2, Conversions: Goode 3, Lozowski, Penalties: Goode 3
Harlequins – Penalties: Evans 2
Referee: Greg Garner
Attendance: 16,116
