Semi-final agony for Wasps

A SEASON that was alive with possibilities just seven days ago has flatlined.

After their almost certain demise in the Guinness Premiership last week, Wasps’ European hopes died a death at the hands of a first-class Cardiff Blues side at Adams Park this evening.

Despite a trojan defensive effort and a majestic kicking display from Dave Walder, Tony Hanks’ team were out-scored two tries to nil and the winning margin would have been significantly greater but for Wasps’ famous stickability.

Now, barring a miracle at Bath next weekend, all that remains for the men in black and gold is to fulfil their league obligations 300 miles up the motorway in Newcastle, in front of a smattering of their own fans.

It will be a grim death rattle.

A last-four defeat was not the script Danny Cipriani, Paul Sackey and George Skivington wanted in their final match in Wycombe before moves to Australia, France and Leicester respectively.

In fact, Cipriani did not even start the game as Hanks took the bold decision to start with Walder at ten – but at the heavens opened up over Wycombe less than an hour before kick off it appeared to be a prophetic call.

Hanks might have been having second thoughts though, when Walder let the first box kick of the game slip through his hands in the opening minute.

It invited Cardiff onto the front foot and that’s where they stayed for most of the next 80 minutes.

The opening try could have come as early as the fifth minute when Cardiff back rower Xavier Rush shrugged off Simon Shaw and Mark van Gisbergen just inside the Wasps 22.

Joe Simpson swung round to snare him, but the ball broke loose and Ben Blair was only denied a score by a 50/50 call from referee Romain Poite.

Wasps had another reprieve two minutes later when Blair pushed the first penalty of the match wide, and the former All Black missed again after 21 minutes.

But it was all Cardiff and Wasps deserve huge credit for absorbing such an onslaught without completely buckling. The early stages were typified in a two-minute spell midway through the first half when Wasps’ big men – Shaw, Phil Vickery and Joe Worsley – all crunched into tackles in quick succession to slow down the Welsh juggernaut.

It was a defensive exercise though, and after 27 minutes Cardiff finally cracked it.

Yet another tackle from Worsley stopped Blues as they looked to go through the middle after taking a quick tap penalty, but the visitors swung the ball wide and Lions winger Leigh Halfpenny slipped van Gisbergen to finish off a two-man overlap.

Blair missed the conversion and without his waywardness from the tee Cardiff would have been well into double figures.

He did land his first kick in four attempts on the stroke of half-time but, incredibly, instead of stretching his team’s lead it cut their deficit.

Only Wasps will know how they got to the interval in front, but resilience is their middle name and with their defend-for-your-life attitude back in place, their pack matching Cardiff muscle for muscle, and Walder back to his metronomic best, Wasps found themselves 9-8 up.

It might have even been more. The one time they stretched the Cardiff defence, after 15 minutes, they should have scored as Dom Waldouck barged through Ceri Sweeney and into open ground.

With van Gisbergen and Sackey outside him, a try was definitely on but a combination of a high pass and imperfect handling cost them a clear run in.

But Wasps would have been delighted with 9-8 and Walder, with his fourth kick from four in horrible conditions, injected real belief into the players and fans alike when he made it 12-8 two minutes into the second half.

Now not content with just stopping Cardiff, Wasps suddenly began to open up and runs from Dan Ward-Smith and Waldouck both raised the decibel levels inside the stadium before the home team looked for a decisive blow with a 5m scrum.

But nothing came from it, the black and gold storm passed just as quickly as it had arrived and, in terms of decisive blows, the next ten minutes was full of them and they were all struck by the visitors.

A Blair penalty made it 12-11 after 52 minutes, Tim Payne retired injured and then Shaw was sin-binned for playing the ball on the ground.

Resisting a pack like Cardiff’s is tough enough with eight forwards – it is next to impossible a man light and after 58 minutes Wasps were undone again when Gethin Jenkins was too strong for Ward-Smith in a wrestle on the line.

Blair converted to make it 18-12 and the match looked gone.

Wasps don’t do semi-final defeats though, and the last 20 minutes just about belonged to them.

Walder cut the gap to three points with his fifth kick of the night and with ten minutes to go, Cipriani on and Cardiff down to 14 men after Scott Andrews was sin-binned, anything seemed possible.

And with four minutes left and three points between the teams, an heroic result looked there for the taking as Walder found himself face to face with the moment of the match.

With the rain teeming down, he stared down the posts from the right touchline, 45m from goal.

Adams Park held his breath as he struck it sweetly and all eyes followed the ball as it spiralled through the night sky.

But his kick drifted a yard wide and minutes later Wasps were contemplating a second devastating defeat in as many weeks.

Meeting Jonny Wilkinson and Toulon on the French Riviera in three weeks time would have been nice, but the wait for silverware goes on.

Looking ahead to next season, Wasps still have plenty in their locker that can hurt teams, but only they will know how badly their greatest weapon over the past decade – their self belief – has been damaged.