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HARINGEY RHINOS 3 Wasps 17

HARINGEY RHINOS 3 Wasps 17

Richard Green15 Feb 2013 - 16:11
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Waterlogged, Raining and Muddy - Match report by Dave Farmer

Wasps travelled out to Haringey for their last league match of the season under light grey skies and dry conditions, with what turned out to be a forlorn hope that they would miss the forecasted rain. They found an already exceptionally wet pitch and when the rain started to fall, as the teams went through their warm-ups, it was obvious that things were only going to get worse, and so it transpired.
Wasps kicked off and Haringey knocked on, from the ensuing scrummage Wasps in their usual ambitious manner were moving the ball wide in an attempt to play a wider, open game before the conditions deteriorated too much. The inevitable dropped ball gave the ball back to Haringey who immediately showed that they were not going to move the ball more than one pass away from contact under any circumstances. This led to a spell of Haringey crashing the ball up and Wasps tackling vigorously at the gain line. Both sides continued to play in this manner for the next fifteen minutes with Haringey clearly holding the better field position and having more of the ball. A catch and drive line-out was stopped just short and a Haringey player was held up just short and ball turned over by the scavenging Wasps back-row.
During this spell of the game the Wasps tenacity at the breakdown and in the tackle was seen at its best and Dan, making his comeback after breaking his leg earlier in the season, BJ, Greenie, Aussie Alex, Sam and Jack all making telling tackles, well inside the Wasps defensive twenty-two. For Wasps during the opening twenty minutes defence had become their main means of attack, as they had little ball and even when they did they tended to be too expansive, with their passing, and dropped or knocked on to give possession straight back.
On the twenty minute mark Haringey deservedly took the lead when the converted a penalty from close to the Wasps posts having previously missed a similar kick at goal, Haringey 3 Wasps 0. From the kick off Wasps were back in the Haringey half and starting to play a much more close order driving game, one that suited the conditions better and as a result began to ask some questions of their own. Having defended solidly Haringey turned the ball over and kicked ahead into the Wasps half and chased up with gusto. Tim jumped to catch the ball and collided with a Haringey chaser, who had the same idea, Tim came second and received a deep gash to his cheek in the following collision. Fortunately for him Shelley had her ‘Plastic Surgery Kit’ with her and was able to patch him up, well enough that he was able to re-enter the fray for the final twenty minutes, later in the game.
Having had some success from kicking ahead and chasing Haringey repeated the concept and from the next kick ahead, Wasps last defender gathered the ball and in-turn kicked an up and under down the middle of the pitch. George chasing up at full speed made a crunching tackle on the Haringey catcher, the ball broke loose and Sam, following up, dribbled the loose ball over the Haringey, line before diving on it, just ahead of his Haringey pursuer, and scored a try somewhat against the play of the previous twenty five minutes. Blayne missed a difficult conversion, out of the worst of the slimy mud that this end of the pitch had become, but Wasps had taken the lead at Haringey 3 Wasps 5.
The rest of the first half saw Wasps with a majority control of the ball and consequently field position. Using driving mauls and pick and go, as their main methods of advancing the ball Wasps were controlling where the game was being played and Haringey were showing that they too were prepared to tackle to a man to defend their try line. Wasps kept knocking at the door but it would not open. Haringey gave away a stream of penalties, which Wasps elected to take tap kicks from, as the chances of a successful field goal in the prevailing conditions was slight at best. From one such quick tap and go penalty, Greennie rushed towards the line, but as he dived to score a Haringey defender dived headlong into him and dislodged the ball.
Both sides by now had become light brown in colour from head to foot and all and sundry were exceptionally wet, deciding who was who in some of the close contact situations was becoming a task for those with twenty/twenty vision, even though both team seemed to know exactly who was who and just got on with it. Both sides deserve credit for the manner in which they played and no quarter was being asked or given, as they both gave their all on a pitch that was rapidly beginning to resemble a swamp.
Wasps were entrenched in the Haringey twenty-two and governing the territorial war comfortably and it came as a surprise when Ticks was Yellow Carded for Wasps first offence for ten minutes after a stream of defensive penalties by their opponents. No sooner had he left the field than the whistle for half-time blew.
In a half that had seen both sides have equal possession, over its entirety, Wasps possibly deserved their slight advantage for their efforts in the last fifteen minutes of the half. Half-time Haringey 3 Wasps 5.
As the second half started Wasps first task was to see out the Yellow Card without any further damage to the scoreboard. Aussie Alex had pulled up lame and Liam made his first appearance since before Christmas, it took him three or four minutes to get himself into the same degraded state as his team mates, but three thumping no-nonsense tackles, saw his kit and body blend in perfectly with everybody else. Luke was showing that on a really wet and muddy pitch, he is a bit like The Queen Mary and just ploughs on regardless and was once again eating up the metres with ball in hand in all of the close driving situation, invariably getting over the gain line and initiating many of Wasps better drives. He was supported or on numerous occasions by a smaller Submarine version next to him in the front-row, in Captain Rory, who as usual was to the forefront in all of Wasps pick and go’s and driving plays.
Wasps played all of the remaining time of the Yellow Card on the front foot until the return of Tick’s, Kieran had supplied a series of good line-out catches, that had enabled Wasps to close the game down and eat up the time. However, as soon as Wasps were back to full complement Ryan made an excellent clearing kick into touch, from a Haringey kick ahead, only to chase after it and pull a Hamstring. Carlos came on, at wing and proceeded to get involved in all he could, in a valiant effort to warm himself up after fifty minutes on the side.
Now back to full strength Wasps made the defining play of the game, when for the fourth week running the Forwards set a pick and go in motion, from about twenty metres out, successive drives, excellent ball retention and presentation saw the ground eaten up quickly and ended in Adam being driven over by his playmates, for an excellent Forwards try. Blayne managed to find a piece of un-squashed ground and converted to take Wasps into a comfortable lead, considering the conditions, of nine points at Haringey 3 Wasps 12.
Almost from the restart BJ received a knock to the head and was clearly concussed, Shelley totally against his directive and wishes, advised and removed him to the side line. Wasps were now down to a bare fifteen players as injuries were adding up.
The next score came after a further ten minutes of Wasps territorial advantage and saw Blayne finish off a good Forwards drive, by making an outside break, against a back-peddling defence and score in the corner. His conversion effort from the touchline was staggeringly close to success considering the quagmire he was now running up in, to take what was already a very difficult conversion. Haringey 3 Wasps 17 was a substantial lead as the pitch was now in a very poor state.
The final fifteen minutes saw two very tired sides continue to play one-up rugby and try to minimise mistakes, Wasps with the safety net of a fourteen point lead and Haringey trying not to spill, any more ball and thus be driven even further back.
Both sides seemed very happy to hear the final whistle blown, by a Referee who had been consistent in his attempts to get the game moving, had tried to play advantage, which in honesty was often not there and had been fair and honest to both sides. After the first twenty minutes in which Haringey had controlled the game in large parts, Wasps had managed to seize the initiative and deserved their winning margin.
For Wasps every player was called upon, at some stage to make a meaningful tackle or two, and the fact that Haringey failed to score a try, during twenty minutes of full-on attack in the Wasps twenty-two speaks for itself.
In the Forwards all ten players used during the course of the game had stood firm and been counted, in a game that rarely moved more than a few metres from either pack. Greenie, Rory, Luke and Adam had all been very strong in the Front-row. Rorys throwing-in throughout to the line-outs, in the match was exceptional and to a large part meant, that Wasps had been able to control that part of the game. Haringey had tried three players at throwing in and had not been as successful. Kieran was quietly getting on with his jobs, in all facets of forward play; Tick’s was just involved, in his own enigmatic style, throughout the seventy minutes he was on the pitch. Who knows what he could do in a full game? The back-row saw BJ, Ausie Alex and Greenie, for part of the game, all contributed massively to the team, as they have done all season when available, and Liam’s cameo in the second half showed that quality, game knowledge and totally committed tackling are irreplaceable when games are played on this type of surface.
In the Backs Sam, Jack, George, Ryan and Carlos had been called upon to tackle or carry the ball up into powerful opposition defenders, as well as dive on loose ball kicked through or dropped in action during the game. Tim had been awarded a Purple Heart for his efforts at the back.
In truth the Forwards had made sure that Wasps had won the game but the Wasps half-backs of Cam and Blayne had both had ‘Stormers’ and controlled the teams position, in positive areas of the pitch, after the first twenty minutes.
For his unerring accuracy of passing, tackling like an extra back-row when required Cam was clear winner of ‘Man of the Match’, but a runner-up would have been almost impossible to choose, such was the commitment and effort made by so many others on the day.
This was a good way to end the seasons League Competition and Wasps will have learnt a great deal along the way. With the Tour to France to look forward to the boys will be in a continued state of high excitement over the next few weeks.
It is with some degree of sadness that we must say goodbye to Greenie and Adam as they are off back home to the Southern Hemisphere.
Greenie has been a stalwart of the team at Prop, Hooker and Back-row over the last two seasons, always positive on the field and a player who will be remembered by one and all for his wholehearted approach to the game. His activities off the pitch, are also the stuff of legends, so New Zealand beware, he left home a boy but is coming home a man.
Adam has played Prop for most of this season and shown himself to be a most capable player, disproving the supposed in adequacies of Australians in this position. He has held his own against, or bettered his direct opposition in all games played. He has played positively and his ‘growling voice’ will be missed in rucks and mauls, he has also of late shown an appetite for try scoring. He returns to Australia for a holiday, before setting off to play rugby in Canada next season. Oh to be young and carefree again!!!!
We wish them both well and hope that they keep in touch.
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