If you've just joined us, you've missed out on some exciting fixtures, so feel free to go back and check Part 1 here. For those who are desperately seeking the final three matches of Pool C's matches in the Singha 7's last Friday, you're in luck!
Wasps v Northampton.
Wasps seemed intent on settling the Premiership clash
against Northampton from the trip to the Gardens in March. A well worked 1-2
between Wade and Daly set the former in for his fourth. From there, Saints
looked rattled with a frantic passage which ended with a turn over to allow Macken
in. The flood gates opened, with the dancing feet of Wade avoiding two
defenders on his way to the line, and Macken’s vision on the outside gave Wasps
their bonus point before the half. Lozowski’s boot proved he is the man to
replace Andy Goode next season.
Wade departed at the half, but the flow of tries kept going
with Bassett scoring early on in the first minute. There is some overconfidence
as passes are fired amongst Wasps players, forcing a fumble. Northampton tried
to counter-attack but some loose play gave a scrum to Wasps, from which
Lozowski scored his only try of the evening. He dutifully converted his own
score, but Northampton decide to at least get a consolation score. An over-lap
goes begging but it is worked back the other way as Alex Moon takes the ball
and dives for the line. The final try goes to Thomas Young, with Lozowski
finishing off the game 49-5. Wasps were now guaranteed to head to the Stoop the
next week for the finals.
Northampton v Harlequins.
The final game for the Midlanders and the Londoners started
badly for the Northamptonians. Two early tries through Marchant and Nairn put
Quins ahead, but an interesting tactic was deployed by the Quins to utilise a
sweeper. This meant they stood as 6 men in a line, with the seventh player as a
full-back. A risky move, and proved costly as Northampton utilised the space on
the wing, allowing Emery to score his second try of the evening. Olver
converted, reducing the gap to just 5. Magical feet from Calum Waters showed
the talent in the Quins academy. Neither team were able to complete moves from
chips ahead, with Harlequins opting to end the half after a scrum.
In the second half, Northampton tried to use the defensive
strategy of Harlequins to their advantage, but in an attempt to force the
overlap, a powerful tackle against Emery left Northampton a man down. As
Harlequins turn the ball over, Northampton were penalised and in a fit of
pique, Alex Mitchell was sent to the sin bin. During the two minutes depleted,
Northampton pressurised Harlequins but Sam Aspland-Robinson eventually broke
through the defensive line to score. Mitchell returned to the pitch, but his
return did not stop Harlequins from scoring again with Waters using his
footwork again to pick a line through the Northampton defence. Undaunted,
Northampton attacked in the dying minutes, using their offloading abilities to
gain a consoling score through Hutchinson. The final result – 26 v 12 to the
hosts of the finals.
Wasps v Saracens.
The final match of the evening started as all the others
Wasps matches started – with a try from Christian Wade. He received a wide pass
and sprinted around the defender to finish the score. Saracens tried to
counterattack after the score, but a loose ruck meant Wade could pinch the ball.
40 metres up the field and the very next phase saw Wade targeted and floored.
However, he offloaded to Young who finalised the move. Saracens tried furiously
to keep hold of the ball, but eventually were forced to kick ahead through and
into touch. A quick lineout and a counter kick downfield gave the ball to Matt
Gallagher who forced his way over the line. The conversion went wide, giving a
half time score of 12-5 to the hosts.
A far closer contest than Wasps
were used to so far did not last long, and Robson quickly got his name on the
scoreboard for this match. Saracens were desperate to take the spot at the
finals day from Harlequins and Dom Morris managed to evade Wade’s speed to dot
down, closing the cap to 9 points. The try was almost replicated moments later,
but a fumbled pass found only touch. From a penalty, Wade receives the ball
where, surprisingly, only the referee kept up to watch Wade score his seventh
try of the night. As Wade left, the stadium rose to their feet to wave him off,
clearly Man of the Round in my eyes. Saracens, meanwhile, were struggling to
break the gainline. A dogleg in the Wasps defence did give them a chance, but
the final pass went forward. Apologies in advanced for the upcoming pun. The
Wasps substitutes swam the field (I warned you) and the fresh legs take
advantage. Conor Dolan turned the ball over and offloaded to Bassett who
sprinted along the wing to score the final points of the day. The final result
was a clean sweep for Wasps and 33-10 to the hosts.
So the final victors are Wasps and Harlequins who head to Twickenham Stoop to compete with Newport Qwent Dragons, Scarlets, title holders Gloucester, Exeter Chiefs, Newcastle Falcons and Sale Sharks for the first silverwear of the season. For Northampton and Saracens, there are some bright stars waiting for their opportunity and they did well for their clubs. The class Wasps were able to call upon put them beyond the other clubs though and it will be interesting to see if the other teams choose to rotate their squads. But hey, that's 7's for you! Ciao for now!
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