By Barney Burnham
April 26 2005

It may not have been Mission Impossible, but overturning a 16 points deficit at Welford Road was always going to be Mission Improbable - and so it proved.  

MISSION IMPROBABLE PROVES TOO MUCH FOR VALIANT WASPS

Despite a fighting performance, in heavy rain and in front of a crowd of 11,629, the Wasps A season ended in disappointment, as they went down 29-22 to Leicester's Development XV. The 64-41 aggregate win meant that the Zurich A League title for 2004/5 goes to the East Midlands.

Wasps made their attacking intentions clear from the start. They had a golden opportunity to score a morale-boosting try as early as the second minute. A Leicester attack broke down in the Wasps 22, and quick hands sent Matt Priscott away down the left touchline. With the Leicester defence closing in on him, the winger found Rob Laird at his elbow, deep in the Leicester 22, but the fullback couldn't hold on to the pass and the chance went begging.

Two minutes later, it was the turn of Thom Evans to threaten, with a sizzling burst from a scrum near the Wasps 22. Mark Lock and James Brooks kept the move going, but it ended with Leicester winning turnover ball in the shadow of their posts.

Wasps were eventually rewarded for their early pressure, when Brooks landed a simple penalty goal.

The 3-0 lead was shortlived. The restart was high and long, and Brooks dropped it, under his own posts. From the resultant scrum, Leicester made a series of thrusts for the line, before winning a penalty which gave fullback Roger Warren the chance to level things at 3-3.

Two minutes later, Warren was on target with a long-range penalty to give Leicester a 6-3 lead on the night, and put them 19 points ahead on aggregate.

That lead was stretched in typical Leicester fashion, after a powerful burst by Alesana Tuilagi led to a lineout five yards from the Wasps line. A catch and drive ended with prop Peter Cook going over in the corner. Warren missed the difficult kick.

The next few minutes saw Wasps hammering away at the Leicester line. After Warren Fury took a quick penalty in the Tigers 22, Joe Mbu and Henry Nwume were stopped just short of the line, before Ali Mckenzie forced his way over, only to be held up.

Immediately afterwards, Leicester skilfully stole the ball from a ruck on the line. Their defence was being stretched to the limit, but they proved equal to the task, and Wasps' only reward for a period of sustained pressure was a Brooks penalty, when Leicester offended after a typical charge by McKenzie.

A minute later, Wasps were level. Laird gathered the ball in his 22, and started a counterattack, before hoisting a kick over the halfway line. A Leicester player gathered it, but lost possession in a crunching tackle from Brooks. Mbu gathered the loose ball and sent Peter Richards on a 40 metre run to the line. He managed to get over, before three defenders prevented him from grounding the ball - but James Haskell was on hand to rip it clear and touch down for what he described as one of the easiest tries he'll ever score.

Brooks could not add the extra points, but Wasps were now back in the game. Laird then had to show his defensive skills, with a try-saving tackle, after an explosive run by Will Skinner, who had powered his way through a gap in the Wasps midfield.

Deep into injury time, Brooks landed a third penalty, to give Wasps a 14-11 halftime lead.

Now 13 points down, Wasps began the second half in spirited fashion, knowing that an early score could make things very interesting - but the home side landed the first blow of the half, after stealing lineout possession near the Wasps line.

Martin Purdy won the ball, but it was ripped from him in mid-air. It was moved swiftly along the line, to give Tuilagi the time and space to outflank the defence and go over in the corner. Warren missed the conversion, but then landed another penalty to make it 19-14.

With a 21 points lead, Leicester knew there was no need to take risks, and they now began to rely on the powerful boot of flyhalf Ross Broadfoot, to keep Wasps penned in their own territory. With no option but to chase the game, Wasps refused to let their heads go down, and attacked at every opportunity. By now, the rain had become heavy and the inevitable handling errors crept in, with far too many balls being lost in the tackle.

One bullocking charge by Mbu set the alarm bells ringing in the home defence. Wasps then won a penalty in the Leicester 22, which they chose to kick to touch at the corner. Again, a crucial lineout was lost.

Then came the only ugly moment of a match which was otherwise played in an excellent spirit. Tom French, who'd come on as a replacement for Henry Nwume, clashed with Leicester skipper Brett Deacon. Within seconds, a major brawl had erupted, near the Leicester line. When order was restored, referee Robin Goodliffe consulted his touch judge and sent the two original sinners to the bin.

Brooks then kicked his fourth penalty to revive faint Wasps hopes, but the killer blow came from the restart.

Wasps again failed to secure possession and Leicester pounced on the loose ball. It was moved quickly to the right, before Tuilagi failed to gather a pass, knocking it well forward. But he was fast enough to gather it before it hit the ground, and crash over for his second try of the night. Warren landed the difficult conversion, to give his side an impregnable 25 points aggregate lead, which was stretched to 28, when he landed another penalty, three minutes from time.

To their great credit, it was Wasps who secured the final score of the night, which was warmly applauded by the sporting home crowd. Laird - by now at flyhalf, after a series of substitutions - launched an attack, which was stopped just inside the Leicester 22. The forwards then won possession, and a powerful drive took the ball to within five metres of the line, When it emerged, Fury fed Mbu, and the centre's pass sent Evans over in the corner. Dominic Waldouck, on for the injured Richards , missed the kick and the final score was Leicester 29 Wasps 22 - a 64-41 aggregate win for the Tigers.

Coach Shaun Edwards was disappointed, but upbeat.

"This was a much better game than the first leg. Our standard of play was much higher, and it was a fantastic experience for our young players to perform in front of such a big crowd, in a hostile atmosphere. We probably lost it in the last ten minutes of the first leg. But we've really developed as a team, over the past two seasons. I think it's appropriate that the top two teams in the Zurich Premiership are also the top two teams at A level. Defeat hurts, but we can be pleased that we've moved on from where we were 12 months ago."

Leicester's Development Manager Dusty Hare felt the title was won at Wycombe. "For me, the turning point was when we were 19-13 down, and they were camped near our line for several minutes, but we kept them out."

A disappointing end to the season it may have been, but the season was far from disappointing. Some spectacular rugby has been played, some exciting new talent has made its mark and more and more people have discovered that the Zurich A League has a great deal to offer.

For many of the players on show tonight, the season is all but over. Some will still hope to feature in first team action, with at least two, possibly three games still to play. They can be proud of what they've done this season, but the pain of falling at the final hurdle should inspire them to go one better next time.