8:20am Tuesday 9th March 2010
By Alan Feldberg
DAVE Walder scored 19 points on his return to the Wasps side on Sunday to steer them back into the top four and justify the faith of director of rugby Tony Hanks, who picked him ahead of Danny Cipriani.
Cipriani had started the last three Wasps games and scored all their points in the last two, but Hanks said Walder was better suited to the specific challenges posed by Gloucester.
He said: “A lot gets made of Dave and Dan and, like we were at the beginning of the season when they were both playing well, we’re in a fortunate position to have two very good tens.
“They both offer different things and Dave was the right guy today.
“He has been a big part of our preparation and he ran us round the park. He was a big part of why we were tactically very good.”
Walder actually missed three kicks at a goal and a drop kick attempt in the second half, but his work in the first half, coupled with a stunning David Lemi try, secured a win which Hanks believes sets them up for the final six matches of the Guinness Premiership.
He said: “It’s going to be six big weeks. We knew we had to get a good start to the season, but we’ve always prided ourselves on the last two months and making sure that that’s when we’re peaking.”
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