Jonathan Wisniewski slotted the winning points after it had looked like his side's dominance in possession had been in vain. Wasps' loss means we qualify as third seeds and now meet Gloucester in the quarter final at Adams' Park. The last minute capitulation also means that, should the Cherry and Reds be overcome, an away semi-final would await.

Racing enjoyed the bulk of the possession, but it was Wasps who could have scored more tries in the second half. First, Dan Ward-Smith was turned turtle in goal, and later, David Lemi was inches short of claiming another kick-and-chase - the "video" ref was unable to discern any foul play by Dan Scarborough, who may, or may not, have batted the ball away in goal.

The match highlighted two areas of concern for Wasps:

Our reputation for not scrummaging seemed to colour the referees view, after he'd sent Ward-Smith off to the cooler for ten minutes following a period of sustained pressure by Racing. The "mise-en-scène", ie: our recent humbling by the Tigers' pack, just might have encouraged the referee to view any lack of stability and squareness at a scrum-5 as brinkmanship. The upshot? A penalty try was awarded "assuredly" a few wheeling scrums later. The message is clear: take heed, Wasps, even if the opposition does not bind correctly.

The other concern is our tendency to shoot ourselves in the foot when the battle is practically won. Trying to play expansive football in the 79th minute is all well and good but, had LBND been on the park, then the ball would have been glued to the opponent's 5-metre line, nowhere near Wasps half. If Wasps continue in this vein, no silverware will follow.

So, overall, Wasps are not the vintage of 2002-3. There wasn't to be an unbeaten passage through the foothills of the European Challenge Cup this time round. Whether we'll catch wind of our traditional late surge in the Guinness Premiership remains to be a lesson in objectivity. The Prem may be a lot dourer now, seven years on, but then other teams are a lot wiser, too.

Amlin Challenge Cup dates:
Q-F 8-11 April, 2010
S-F 30 April-2 May, 2010
Final 21-23 May, 2010

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