Bayonne 3-12 London Wasps
Wasps lead Pool 4 by seven points with two group games remaining
Thursday, 17, Dec 2009 09:06
By Tom Powell.
London Wasps ground out a 12-3 victory against Bayonne in France to open up a seven point lead in Pool 4 of the Challenge Cup.
The match was far from a classic but the visitors were always in control as Dave Walder grabbed all his side's points.
Bayonne rarely threatened the Wasps try line and stay second in Pool 4 ahead of Racing Metro Paris.
Wasps made four changes from the side that beat Bayonne 22-18 a week ago with Paul Sackey, Ben Jacobs, Rob Webber and Simon Shaw back in the starting line-up.
The visitors had the better of the first half but had to make do with just a 6-0 lead given to them by the boot of Dave Walder.
Cedric Garcia halved the deficit midway through the second half but Walder struck with a drop-goal and a penalty to wrap up the win.
Walder moved Wasps into a fourth minute lead when he slotted a penalty after the Bayonne backline were caught offside.
Walder was wayward with a tenth minute penalty attempt but did eventually double Wasps' lead midway through the first half after an infringement at the breakdown.
Joe Simpson and Dan Ward-Smith found holes in the French defence but squandered their opportunities to grab the night's first score.
Two minutes before the break Wasps were reduced to fourteen men after captain Serge Betson was sinbinned for persistent offending.
Three minutes into the second half George Skivington powered through the Bayonne defence before Walder's looping pass ended up in touch instead of in the hands of David Lemi five metres from the whitewash.
Seconds after being back up to a full compliment of players Wasps were a man down for ten minutes once more after Skivington was dismissed for the use of a knee at the breakdown.
Walder was the next man to make a break but his pass fell short of Sackey and the Bayonne defence snuffed out the danger.
The second half had its first points with 17 minutes remaining when Garcia slotted a penalty after Lemi held on too long under pressure.
With 13 minutes left Walder pulled a penalty wide but made amends by slotting a drop-goal to reopen Wasps' six-point lead.
Eight minutes before the end Walder wrapped up victory by kicking his third penalty of the evening after the Bayonne forwards collapsed a scrum.
Bayonne pushed for a losing bonus point but couldn't find a way through the Wasps and the visitors returned home with a 12-3 win.
A win in the next round of fixtures against Roma at home will ensure Wasps advance to the next stage of the European Challenge Cup.