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Wasps claim opening victory
6:35pm Sunday 12th October 2008
Danny Cipriani and Josh Lewsey produced a neat one-two combination punch to floor Castres as Wasps opened their Heineken Cup campaign with an emphatic 25-11 home victory.
The two England internationals buried their differences in the best way possible after coming to blows during a feisty training session on Tuesday. Cipriani sent Lewsey over for Wasps' third try of the afternoon and the pair then celebrated with a spot of good-humoured shadow boxing.
Wasps had the game wrapped up inside 22 first-half minutes with tries from Paul Sackey and Tom Voyce, while Cipriani finished with a personal haul of 10 points.
Wasps raced into a 17-0 lead with tries from wingers Sackey and Voyce, who had entertained the Wasps squad on Wednesday by donning boxing gloves and protective gear to re-enact the Lewsey-Cipriani set-to.
Italian Referee Carlo Damasco missed two knock-ons early in the build-up to Sackey's score, but that is not to take away from the quality of the try. Riki Flutey scooped up the loose ball, jabbed a grubber kick through for Sackey, who collected the ball and side-stepped opposing winger Rafael Carballo in one move.
Sackey then fended off three Castres defenders to barrel over the line in the corner, for an eighth-minute try which Cipriani successfully converted.
Cipriani then scored a simple penalty before missing a second but Wasps remained camped in the Castres half and Voyce powered over for the second try. The England winger has been working on his upper body strength and he bounced off one tackle, spun clear and then weaved his way past three defenders to dive under the posts.
Castres' former Canterbury fly-half Cameron McIntyre kicked the visitors onto the scoreboard before they lost Darron Nell to the sin-bin. Wasps could not take maximum advantage of the extra man but Cipriani, having shanked another penalty attempt, managed to open a 20-3 half-time lead.
McIntrye added another penalty early in the second period before Cipriani linked with Lewsey to push Wasps into a commanding position. Cipriani chipped forward and then stripped Castres full-back Thomas Bouquie of the ball before sending Lewsey clear down the right wing.
Eventually, French lock Lionel Nallet plunged over for a Castres try but the conversion was missed and Wasps ensured they did not concede a losing bonus point.
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