Rugby-Union
Warriors secure narrow victory over Wasps

Buy photos » Joe Carlisle adds another penalty to see Worcester Warriors to victory over London Wasps. Picture by Ian Smith

London Wasps 0 Worcester Warriors 6

Aviva Premiership

Geoff Berkeley reports from Adams Park

TWO Joe Carlisle penalties were enough to hand Worcester Warriors a crucial Aviva Premiership victory over London Wasps at Adams Park.

But in an error-strewn encounter, the match will be remembered for gathering nearly as many injuries as points, with, most notably, debutant Ezra Taylor being carried off after just two minutes with a serious leg injury.

The woeful weather also did not help matters as the game was continually bogged down in the middle of the park.

But, despite being rocked by the injury, it was Worcester who grabbed the first half lead with a Carlisle penalty.

The playing conditions were the only thing that improved in the second half as once again just a single score from the Warriors fly-half was enough to edge the half and the match. Victory sees Worcester leap-frog Wasps into tenth place and move ten points clear of bottom side Newcastle Falcons.

With Taylor included in the Warriors line-up for the first time, visiting fans were excited to see what the Samoan international could do.

But disaster struck after just two minutes as the number eight was knocked down with a serious leg injury before getting stretchered off.

With Warriors knocked back by the injury, Wasps looked to take advantage and nearly caught them napping when a neat ball over the top by Nick Robinson found winger Christian Wade but Miles Benjamin covered brilliantly.

Both sides tried to string passes together in an attempt to break the deadlock but with the rain beating down it made handing very difficult.

Marcel Garvey made the first significant break for Worcester after 20 minutes, as he sliced through the middle before being stopped short.

And it was the visitors who had the first crack at the posts but Joe Carlisle long range effort whistled wide of the left hand post.

Wasps looked slightly the more comfortable with ball in hand with Riki Flutey and Robinson slipping through the tackles but still failed find the break through.

And with time ticking away in a scrappy first half, the hosts then received a double blow as Wade took a heavy knock and Robinson followed soon after.

With the score looking destined to finish level pegging at the interval, Carlisle slotted over an inch-perfect penalty to secure a 3-0 half-time lead.

After conceding the late penalty and with time to freshen up, Wasps were keen to make an impression early on.

And they nearly levelled matters but substitute Ryan Davis’ drop goal effort failed to threaten the posts.

Warriors then went a man down when Garvey was sin-binned for tripping Tom Varndell, which then handed Davis another chance at the stick with a penalty but he fired wide.

With Warriors defending stoutly, the home side struggled to hit their stride as they continued to come up against a Worcester wall.

As the game reached the final quarter, there was a sense the next score would be crucial to the outcome of the tie.

And once again Wasps had the opportunity to level the game but Elliot Daly’s effort went tamely wide.

Five minutes later, and with less than ten minutes remaining, Carlisle did what Daly couldn’t as he dispatched a finely struck penalty to double the visitors’ lead.

As the clock ticked agonisingly down, Warriors managed to dig deep to hold on and secure a vital victory and boost their hopes of survival.