After a long period without a match the team flew out of the blocks and put the opposition on the backfoot from the outset, keeping Royston inside their 22 for the first 10 minutes and racking up the points. Fair play to Royston who slowly crept back into the match in the second half. All 22 players got a game including 3 playing their first matches of the season.

The game started with a series of attacks from Wasps, resolutely kept out by the Royston defence but pressure told when an overlap allowed winger Jamal to cross the line, he should have had another just prior to that with the oppo full back on the line who managing to hold up player and ball. That first try created the pressure and Royston, doubling up on Jamal, created gaps in the middle, after a series of drives it was hooker Ossama who took the ball flat from Theo just outside the 22 and drove to the line ably supported by Eden, Florian and the second row. There was time for Royston to reply before another couple of tries for Wasps taking the score to 20-10 at half time the highlight being a swashbuckling Eden pummeling over for the first of his brace.

The game ebbed and flowed in the second half and with the squad missing key academy players, our structure folded which Royston exploited the opportunities. At one stage, late in the game, the scores were 25-24 which included an excellent run from the Royston full back to weave through the flaying tackles to cross over the line from inside his own half, solid tackling prevented more scores. On the rare occasion when we were not inside our half Jamal got his second, a knock on from the Royston backs led to a sweeping move from the our backs, Jamal picking the ball up on the oppo 10 to run down the line and touch down under the posts. The other wing Tom also got on the score sheet to give quite a nice balance to the try scoring with 3 out wide and 3 through the middle which kept the oppo guessing as to where the attack was coming from.

The team had done enough in that first half and should have wrapped up the game early on but Wasps being Wasps, just like our pro cousins its always a high scoring exciting match.

Waheed