Wasps kept their advantage in the hunt for the playoffs in a hard fought 38-12 victory over rivals Richmond. Despite only leading by five points at the break, Wasps second half performance sealed a solid six try victory. Garnet Mackinder, an early replacement, crossed twice as well as setting up a score with an excellent touchline offload.
Wasps dominated the early encounters with a large amount of territory but handling errors continually cost the visiting side. It was Richmond who got the opening try through an interception from Jess Wooden after 15 minutes.
Wasps finally got on the scoreboard with Amy Cokayne intercepting the ball and shifting it out wide. Garnet Mackinder gave a perfect offload while being tackled into touch which found Lizzie Goulden who fought her way over to score in the corner.
The hosts were reduced to 14 players following a high tackle and the powerful Wasps forwards pack made their advantage tell. A scrum from the resulting penalty went cascading towards the try line before being stopped illegally, and the referee awarded a penalty try.
Wasps were unable to press the advantage further and went into the break in a 12-7 lead.
The visitors came steaming out the blocks in the second half, scoring inside a minute of kick-off. Hannah West made the initial line break before the ball was spread wide to Garnet Mackinder, who finished in the corner.
Wasps controlled the match from thereon in and picked up their fourth score through a charge down by Amy Cokayne, who then pounced on the loose ball inches before it went over the dead-ball line.
The black and gold picked up two more scores before the full-time whistle, Garnet Mackinder picking up her second of the day after a solid scrum provided an excellent attacking platform for the backline. Kanyinsola Adefemiwa-afilaka scored a few minutes from time after a rampaging run from a lineout.
Richmond picked up a second try of the game but were unable to keep pace with a dominant second half performance from the visitors, who sealed the 38-12 win.
Wasps now have two home fixtures as they welcome Darlington Mowden Park Sharks, before a massive clash with high flying Harlequins the following week. Gloucester-Hartpury are hot on the heels of the black and gold, so they will need to build momentum going into the latter part of the regular season.
Courtesy of Wasps
