Wasps had played some great rugby so far this season against 3 very good & very well drilled teams but were desperate to show that they can compete at this standard & get some points on the board.
With this in mind, much homework was done on Tring’s strengths & more importantly weaknesses & an excellent Squad was selected by the Wasps coaches off the back of it!

Jack Robb`s fitness warranted a move out of the front row & into the Blindside flanker position to form a very strong back row along with George Lyons & Gabriel Hartwill.

This , we thought would allow us some flexibility as we knew that Tring posed a threat with some strong forwards but thought if we could play some “up & at ‘em“ rugby then we might be able to disrupt their game plan.

This proved to be the case – Tring liked to try & dominate the game through heavy possession & were very quick & strong at the breakdown. To their credit this became our nemesis throughout the 1st half as 10 mins in they overpowered a heavily contested ruck, fed quick ball out to one of their big & remarkably quick locks & from inside his own half he ran through Wasps defence & scored under the posts. Try easily converted!

Wasps 0 Tring 7

This should have sparked Wasps into life & our own game plan of a rush defence , putting heavy pressure on their forwards & not allowing them to play was all a bit lacklustre. Full back , Finlay Bell was providing us with some excellent cover though & not only showed a very safe pair of hands , his kicking out of hand was superb , getting us out of a couple of sticky situations & giving his teammates time to regroup.

It wasn’t long, however, before Tring put try no. 2 on the board. Wasps carried the ball into contact & on their own 10 metre line lost it at the breakdown, Tring once again showing excellent work at the ruck & in almost identical fashion ran through Wasps defence to score in the corner. This time their try was unconverted!

Wasps 0 Tring 12

At last Wasps started to respond, from their own high ball kick off they chased & put Tring under immediate pressure. No sooner had their scrum half caught the ball than it became loose again after Luke Talbot hit with a perfectly timed solid tackle. Wasps regained possession & spent several minutes camped in Tring's half but still couldn't seem to find a way of getting the ball out wide where we had 2 extremely fast wingers waiting in the channels. Their persistence finally paid off though & Jack Robb eventually held off 3 or 4 players to roll around & touch down in the corner. Finlay unfortunately failed to convert.

Wasps 5 Tring 12

2 mins later the referee called half-time & Wasps’ tails were definitely up!

Some short sharp words were said at half-time by Mark & Patrick, mainly to keep concentrating & stay focused on the game plan. Tring were playing exactly how we thought they’d play & that we had the players, the ability & the strength to counter this. Wasps were told to play with confidence & believe that this game was winnable! Changes were made however with Finlay moving from Full Back to fly half & William Craig coming in at full back.

As the 2nd half restarted, the change in Wasps was instant, we were starting to win ball & started to get it out to the backs to strut their stuff!

5 mins in to the 2nd half & after keeping their own ball at a congested breakdown, the ball was fed out to scrum half Oscar Cryer. He in turn fed inside centre Luke Talbot who used his speed to run round the outside of a sucked in Tring defence to score under the posts. This move was particularly pleasing to see as Rory Mcquater & Ben Carter had held an excellent wide position in support of Luke as outside centre & winger respectively, should Luke had needed either of them. This time Finlay converted.

Wasps 12 Tring 12

Tring carried on applying the pressure to Wasps & although they were strong, they were very reliant on 3 or 4 key individuals & were a little one dimensional! Wasps were now reading the game very well & it seemed every time Tring to pierce a now resolute Wasps defence, we were more than capable of holding them off! On the odd occasion a kick came over the top of Wasps defence, William Craig who was now in at full back was on hand to easily clear.

As a result of one of these clearance kicks, Wasps stole Tring’s lineout & after some great mauling , Oscar Cryer found some momentum to power over the line for Wasps 3rd Try of the morning. With the biting cold wind in his face Finlay narrowly missed the conversion.

Wasps 17 Tring 12

Finally Wasps took control of the game & after the forwards showed the strength & fitness with some dogged “In Your Face Rugby” Tring were camped on their own try line. Out of nothing the ball became loose & Luke Talbot was on hand for try no. 4 & his 2nd of the morning. This time Finlay slotting over the conversion.

Wasps 24 Tring 12

The ref had by now indicated that there was 10 mins to go & Wasps were not out of the woods! Tring were being instructed to not give up yet by their coaches & they responded very well, yet again, some heavy possession play & multiple phase rugby resulting in their 3rd try of the day. Try converted.

Wasps 24 Tring 19

With only one score between them this match was going to the wire & as the ref called last play, Tring fed the ball into their scrum, the ball hooked back quickly to their impressive number 8 who decided to pick & go. He evaded 3 or 4 tackles before finally being up ended by full back William Craig who as it turned out provided Wasps with a match winning tackle, putting him into touch.

Final Score: Wasps 24 Tring 19

Above all else this was a very pleasing team effort! The forwards really putting in the hard yards on what was a very big & extremely wide pitch , at half time the boys really listened , understood & responded to what the coaches had said & the backs were fed very well with nice clean quick ball.

A little more self-belief and starting our games with more aggression & we would see our U13`s win a lot more games.

Well done boys & enjoy that winning feeling!