They continue to be left in the international wilderness but Dan Robson and Danny Cipriani shone brighter than any of England’s backs in a helter-skelter victory for Wasps, the visitors edging home five tries to four.
Cipriani pulled the strings, particularly in the first half, with Robson scoring one try and at his sniping best. While Bath’s rally from 19-0 down not only saved face and led to a thrilling finish, Wasps’ half-backs ensured a sixth straight Premiership win. That they were again left out of England’s training squad and remain so far off Eddie Jones’s radar continues to confound.
Cipriani was aided by his forwards making dents – James Haskell, among the surprise England inclusions, made a particularly fast start while Joe Launchbury was again excellent throughout – but the fly-half’s ability to delay his pass is unrivalled in the Premiership and it allowed Wasps to pull Bath apart. “We played some great stuff on occasions but we became a little bit casual,” Wasps’ director of rugby, Dai Young, said. “But to come here and get a bonus point, we have to be happy with that. Nothing changes with Joe. He’s either good or very good. When things weren’t going well he was a bit of beacon for us.”
After eight minutes of repeated waves of attack, the dam burst when Marcus Watson finished in the corner – Willie le Roux, looking as dangerous as he has ever done in a Wasps jersey, freeing his arms delightfully to make the offload. Cipriani converted and was almost over the try-line soon afterwards, buying himself the space with a fine dummy. He ought to have passed to Christian Wade but Wasps had their second try when the scrum-half Robson darted through a gap next to the posts.
For Bath, the statistics told the story. They had missed 14 of their 62 tackles inside the opening quarter and more were to follow as Nizaam Carr was one of a number of Wasps forwards to make ground in the buildup to their third try, a second for Marcus Watson, well taken in the left-hand corner.
It was a torrid first half an hour for Bath, outgunned at the breakdown and so passive on the gain line. But then, a glimmer of hope. Marcus Watson was sent to the sin-bin for a deliberate knock-on – he had already got away with one – and a series of scrum penalties led to Rhys Priestland breezing over from close range. The Welshman converted for 19-7 and after Bath battered at the Wasps door just before the interval, Jack Wilson crossed on the right. Priestland’s superb conversion took Bath into the sheds only five points down – scarcely believable after the opening exchanges.
Wasps, however, struck first in the second half when Robson spotted a gap, slipped through it and fed Juan de Jongh outside him for the bonus-point try. Bath’s first real foray into Wasps territory in the second half then brought their third try – Zach Mercer, against named as an apprentice for England but masterly here, almost getting it in the right corner but Paul Grant pouncing on the loose ball.
Priestland’s pulled conversion kept Wasps’s lead at seven but for only a matter of minutes. Robson was again the architect of their fifth try, finished by Gaby Lovobalavu. Anthony Watson had been quiet up until that point but a trademark scything run up the middle then led to a yellow card for Le Roux and, this time, a try for Mercer. Priestland’s conversion brought the difference to five and set up the grandstand finish but despite another of Anthony Watson’s mazy runs, Wasps held out when Bath botched a lineout in a promising position.
“[Zach] showed what a class player he is today,” Bath’s director of rugby, Todd Blackadder, said. “He’s a young guy and he’s going to go up and down a bit but he was tremendous, he really stood up. But Wasps were ruthless, we made too many unforced errors and they taught us a real less on ball retention.”
Bath Watson; Wilson, Joseph, Wilson, Brew; Priestland, Fotuali’i (Cook, 65); Obano (Noguera, 66), Dunn, Thomas (Lahiff, 54), Ewels (Stooke, 24; Phillips, 71), Charteris, Garvey (capt), Grant, Mercer.
Tries Priestland, Wilson, Grant, Mercer. Cons Priestland 3.
Wasps Le Roux; Wade, De Jongh, Lovobalavu, Watson; Cipriani, Robson; McIntyre (Harris, 71), Cruse (Johnson, 54), Cooper-Woolley (Moore, 58), Launchbury (capt), Myall (Gaskell, 58), Haskell (Thompson, 66), Young, Carr.
Tries Watson 2, Robson, De Jongh, Lovobalavu. Cons Cipriani 3. Sin-bin Watson 29, Le Roux 64.
Referee L Pearce (Eng). Attendance 14,509.
