The future shape of English club rugby is again a subject of heated debate but for Wasps the soothing balm of this much-needed victory was all that mattered. After only one win in their previous 13 games they badly needed a confidence-building start to 2019 and the return of England’s Joe Launchbury helped secure a result which, for now, puts them back in the top six.
Alongside the outstanding Thomas Young, a deserved man of the match, the leadership of Launchbury was a crucial element in a significantly improved collective display against a Saints side who, before kick-off, had been licking their lips. Instead of sitting in fifth place heading into next month’s Six Nations period Northampton now find themselves languishing in ninth.
Such are the wafer-thin margins in the Premiership at present, with Saints’ director of rugby, Chris Boyd, not disputing the view that Wasps looked hungrier than his team on the day. “Maybe they were more desperate than we were,” he acknowledged. “That’s a pretty damning statement. We’ve got to find a way to avoid delivering flat performances.”
With Boyd also revealing England’s co-captain Dylan Hartley is now unlikely to feature again for his club before the Six Nations because of a “grumbly knee”, the national head coach, Eddie Jones, can at least take heart from the efforts of Launchbury, missing since mid-September with knee and neck problems, as well as Wasps’ fit-again scrum-half Dan Robson, both of whom have spent a large chunk of the season on the sidelines.
Should Wales need another in-form openside at the World Cup they could also do themselves a favour by taking a fresh look at Young, with the flanker’s teammates at Wasps in no doubt whatsoever about his value to their cause. “He has probably been our one consistent, stand-out player of the last couple of years,” said Launchbury. “He was quality today but that’s no different from the last few weeks.”
Three tries to one might sound like a relatively comfortable contest but it was never quite that simple on an afternoon perhaps most notable for several TMO calls which could easily have gone the other way. Young was denied a try in the third quarter when Nizaam Carr was adjudged to have taken out Lewis Ludlam fractionally off the ball only for the home side, leading 17-16, to benefit from the sort of luck which has latterly eluded them.
As Cobus Reinach retreated to gather a Juan de Jongh chip near his own line the visiting scrum-half appeared to have touched down in goal before looking to keep playing, for reasons known only to himself. Things did not end well, with the giant wing Taqele Naiyaravoro coughing up the ball to Willie le Roux who scored in the corner, leaving Boyd to bemoan the officials’ failure to call a five-metre scrum. “Reinach clearly touched the ball down,” said Boyd. “I’m not aware that you can ground the ball then play again. Someone should have realised that ball was grounded.”
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It was one of those days for Saints all round. Wasps had scarcely any early territory or possession yet still found themselves 14-3 up after 24 minutes. Good hands from Lima Sopoaga and Le Roux put Josh Bassett over in the right corner for the first and their second also came against the run of play. De Jongh’s grubber kick had seemed a shade too long but it sat up at the crucial moment, allowing the South African to nick the ball out of Ahsee Tuala’s hands and cruise over unopposed.
Saints, who have never won a league game in nearby Coventry, did claw back one slightly fortunate try when Le Roux fumbled a restart, offering Reinach the platform to unleash the strong-running Fraser Dingwall past Sopoaga and a static Le Roux. Otherwise they had to rely on the boot of Dan Biggar, their afternoon summed up when Luther Burrell dropped the ball over the line late on with a losing bonus point within reach. “Those critical moments pretty much all day went against us, but to be brutally honest we didn’t deserve to win that game,” admitted Boyd.
His counterpart Dai Young, though, has been around long enough to celebrate timely progress when it materialises. Was that Wasps’ best effort of the season? “Well, we haven’t had too many good ones, have we?” came the dry retort. “We’re unbeaten in 2019, that’s the message now.”
The only pity is that England, rather than Wasps, now look set to benefit most from a refreshed Launchbury. “You can’t underestimate how big a factor Joe has been, even just in training,” confirmed Young. “For someone who hasn’t played for as long as him, I thought he was outstanding. When Joe comes back everything looks so much better.”