Wasps take positives from cup exit (From Bucks Free Press)

Wasps take positives from cup exit

10:50am Tuesday 9th February 2010 in

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WASPS are out of the LV Cup, but Sunday’s win over Newcastle shows they are learning the lessons of the past month.

Indiscipline has been a major factor in a run of four defeats in five games before Sunday, but a line looks to have been drawn under that after a controlled display at Kingston Park.

Director of rugby Tony Hanks said: “The discipline was quite good and we were quite composed.

“They threw a lot at us at times and we were only three points in front, so we had to be disciplined and we defended and defended until we forced the turnover.

“We still gave away a couple of soft penalties, but fortunately they didn’t hurt us as much.

“The frustrating thing is we’ve actually been playing some pretty good rugby and we’ve been out-scoring the opposition in terms of tries, but we identified that we needed to be more disciplined and we were.”

However, Cardiff’s bonus point win over Scarlets on Saturday eliminated Wasps even before kick-off.

Hanks said: “People referred to this as a dead rubber, but Wasps don’t play dead rubbers. We play for the performance and we play to win.

“Our focus changed a little bit because the pressure of four tries went and it was just about getting the result.

“But there were things we wanted to achieve in the game around discipline and continuing with the positive way we’ve approached our attack, and while we didn’t get the tries we still created some pretty good opportunities.”

The victory comes just at the right time.

Wasps, with ground to make up, return to Guinness Premiership action on Sunday when Sale visit Wycombe.

Hanks said: “Getting the win was crucial. It just gives us a launch pad and a bit of confidence going back into the Premiership.”