Wasps secured their second ever Premier 15s win against Saracens in a nail biting head to head battle at Twyford Avenue. Unlike their last meeting of the season – today was not a game of two halves. The sides fought tit for tat until the final whistle.
Flash back to the first Premier 15s season where Wasps fought their way to a 5-0 victory over Saracens in the rain and cold. A very different picture today but an equally exhilarating outcome today at a sunny Twyford Avenue where Wasps held out to the last minute to win 26-24.
Wasps opened the game in the third minute when Jones weaved her way round Saracen’s defence to take it over the line. Saracens were quick to respond- making the most of a penalty from the restart and driving over the line from a line out to even out the scoreboard in the 6th minute.
Building on lessons learnt from last week’s defeat against Harlequins, the game management from Jones today shone through- making the right decisions in the right places of the pitch.
Jones’ boot earned Wasps a further 6 points taking them ahead in the first half. But in the final minutes before the break, Saracens’ prop and former Wasps player Clark drove over the line to take them one point ahead.
Keen to stay ahead, it was Saracens who put the first points on the board in the second half with another driving maul- Campbell taking the points. Things looked dangerous for Wasps when a missed tackle let the opposition through Wasps’ defence and Packer scored Saracens’ fourth try of the game.
But Wasps winger, Dow, had other ideas with two stunning tries of her own- the second fighting off six Saracens’ defenders to fight her way over the line. These along with another penalty kick from Jones took Wasps into the lead with 10 minutes left in the game.
Wasps’ resilience patience and control sealed the deal holding out Saracens in defence for the final minutes of the game.
Next week Wasps face Exeter who have recently put in some huge performances against top of the table side. But with the home advantage Wasps will be looking for a repeat of today’s performance.
Courtesy of Wasps
