It could not have been any other way. Danny Cipriani returned to the club that let him go, now king of the one who took him in, and masterminded that rare phenomenon in recent years, a Gloucester away win. Not only that but the visitors made off with a bonus point. Cipriani pocketed 15 points of his own, sparked what will no doubt prove one of the tries of the season and generally ran the show with his customary aplomb.
“Every player played his part,” said the Gloucester head coach, Johann Ackerman, “but in particular Danny was very good all week. The nice thing about Danny is he brings a lot of belief. He’s been very good for us as a group.”
It was a sobering afternoon for Wasps and for Eddie Jones. Not only did the man both have recently passed over shine so brightly but Dan Robson, finally accepted by Jones into the England fold, left the field in the first half with an ankle injury, which Wasps’ director, Dai Young, described as “nasty”. He is likely to be a doubt for England’s autumn and certainly for Wasps’ trip to Dublin to take on Leinster, no less, in the Champions Cup on Friday.
This was no send-off. Wasps were strangely lacking in snap and their discipline in the first half helped Gloucester stockpile a lead that would never run out.
Cipriani was magisterial. They say he is taking over at Gloucester. If this is the result, all power to him. Here he relieved Billy Twelvetrees of the kicking duties, whether as a permanent policy or just to rub salt into Wasps’ wounds time will tell.
Robson, in happier times, had opened the scoring with a lightning break round the fringes of a ruck in the third minute, after Nathan Hughes had reintroduced himself to Cipriani’s shoulder in no uncertain terms. But the rest of the half belonged to Gloucester. They tapped a 22 to release Cipriani down the left. He exchanged passes with Ben Vellacott, as they showcased their way towards the 22 at the other end, where Cipriani’s wicked chip was gathered by Vellacott for a truly spectacular try.
The next a few minutes later was a picture too. Cipriani had a hand in it, of course, but can hardly be held responsible for the footwork of Tom Hudson, to whom he passed. Gloucester’s full-back beat two men in seemingly no space at all to release Charlie Sharples. A second Cipriani penalty had the visitors 20-7 up at the break.
Wasps seized the initiative on the resumption and worked Elliot Daly through a gap after much pressure, but a third Cipriani penalty took Gloucester more than a score clear again. Just past the hour Wasps struck a third time, Craig Hampson’s chip ahead touched down by Juan de Jongh to reduce the arrears to two.
This is where Gloucester might have been expected to implode. Instead up stepped Cipriani of course. He can kick too, as is often overlooked, and two fine examples, one in open play, one from a penalty, had Gloucester suddenly on Wasps’ five-metre line. They hammered to within inches, when Cipriani called for the ball and fed Jason Woodward. The latter’s pass out of the tackle put Sharples over for his second. The pass looked well forward, so Cipriani drop-kicked the conversion from out wide and hit the post. No matter; Gloucester had the bonus point and an unassailable lead three minutes later, when Lewis Ludlow drove over from short range.
The win takes them into the top four, now only a point behind Wasps in third. The search has been long and painful but Gloucester may just be on to something at last.
