Away with structure, away with systems, away with cohesion. With a total of 59 players missing from both clubs and the home side forced into a major reshuffle only hours before the game, Wasps and Munster pinned back their ears and embarked on a rollicking ride for 40 minutes, playing cavalier, chaotic, breathless rugby. It was wild and free and richly entertaining.
Romain Poite refereed according to type, allowing everything to go at the breakdown which led to turnovers and tries, but the Frenchman also showed a controversial red card to Brad Shields — and that was one setback too many for Wasps to cope with.
The riotous ding-dong battle of the first half, which featured a high-quality Wasps try from Alfie Barbeary and outstanding performances from the opposing flankers Thomas Young and Peter O’Mahony, became a one-way red tide until the Irish province had secured their bonus point.
Never mind the entertainment value and the spirit with which both teams attacked the game, we were fortunate that a contest went ahead at all given the hurdles both teams had to cross even to take the field.
Wasps feared they would have to forfeit after returning eight positive Covid tests only 24 hours before kick-off. That number was whittled down to four via overnight retests but it cost them both starting locks (Sebastian de Chaves and Elliott Stooke), the No 8 (Tom Willis) and fly half (Jacob Umaga).
Advertisement
Already beset by injuries to senior players, they had only 25 players left — and that was before Shields was dismissed and Gabriel Oghre limped off after hearing “something pop” in an ankle. Lee Blackett, the Wasps head coach, is resigned to dipping into his academy for next weekend’s daunting trip to face Toulouse, the defending champions. The club’s European adventure has become a mission just to fulfil their fixtures. Such a shame.
Munster had their own issues to overcome, arriving in Coventry without 34 players plus additional staff, including the head coach Johann van Graan, after their aborted trip to South Africa.
Twelve of Munster’s 23 were making their first senior appearances, including two of their four tryscorers in Scott Buckley, the hooker, who was named man of the match, and Patrick Campbell, the 19-year-old full back. This was a victory too for Munster’s development system.
Munster were at least able to train together. Wasps were rehearsing in the bowels of the stadium before kick-off having lost the spine of their team. It was little surprise, then, that game plans went out the window; that strategy was replaced by instinct — and it made for an intoxicating first half.
Young and O’Mahony set the tone, the former tearing clear through a gap in a disorganised defence before being hauled down just shy of scoring in the corner by a phenomenal tackle by the Ireland flanker.
Advertisement
There were turnovers galore and counterattacks from deep. Munster led 3-0 when Shields’s tackle on Dave Kilcoyne, the Munster prop, was deemed to have been high and dangerous. “Is that legit?” Shields questioned, bemused as Poite brandished the red card.
Joey Carbery hit a post with the subsequent penalty — just as Jimmy Gopperth had done earlier for Wasps — but extended Munster’s lead to 6-0 before O’Mahony galloped out of his own 22. It was that kind of day.
Wasps then hit Munster with an outrageous try, launched by a break from Barbeary in his own half. Young kicked ahead and chased down Carbery to win the turnover, from which Wasps attacked to the right and Michael Le Bourgeois sent Barbeary careering over for the try.
Munster piled forward again. Wasps stood firm against the heavy runners until they eventually strayed offside. With the free play, Conor Murray dinked a kick over the top with the outside of his right foot and the bounce wrong-footed both Gopperth and Zach Kibirige for Keith Earls to touch down and become Munster’s record tryscorer.
Wasps were hanging on now. Eoin O’Connor charged down a kick, Tadhg Beirne drove for the line and Dan Frost, the Wasps hooker, hurled himself on to the ruck from the wrong side in desperation to slow down the ball. He was sent to the sin-bin and Wasps were down to 13 men.
Advertisement
Barbeary, who is being managed carefully on his return from injury, was replaced at the interval and Munster took full advantage of Wasps being shorthanded with Campbell streaking over after a gallop from Beirne and questionable clear-out from O’Mahony.
Andrew Conway and Buckley both scored while Wasps were down to 13 to secure the bonus point. “That period killed us,” Blackett said. Wasps kept at it and worked a second try, courtesy of a smart finish from Le Bourgeois who picked a line to use the referee as a blocker, but it was mere consolation.
The one sour note for Munster was the sight of Carbery leaving the field with an apparent shoulder injury.
Wasps: Tries Barbeary (30min), Le Bourgeois (63). Cons Gopperth 2. Munster: Tries Earls (34), Campbell (42), A Conway (47), S Buckley (56). Cons Carbery 3. Pens Carbery 3 (6, 27, 66).
Wasps M Watson (C Anderson 70); Z Kibirige, J Bassett (T Matthews 72), M Le Bourgeois, L Mehson; J Gopperth, S Wolstenholme; T West, D Frost (sin-bin 39-49), B Alo (J Toomaga-Allen 41), B Shields (sent off 24), T Cardall, N Carr (K Curran 57), T Young, A Barbeary (G Oghre 41; M van Vuuren 66).
Advertisement
Munster P Campbell (J Wren 72): A Conway, C Farrell, D de Allende, K Earls; J Carbery (T Butler 72), C Murray (E Coughlan 76); D Kilcoyne (M Donnelly 64), S Buckley (D Moore 70), J French (R Salanoa 55), E O’Connor (J Forde 70), T Beirne, P O’Mahony, J Hodnett (C Moloney 70), D Okeke.
Referee R Poite (France).
