Wasps cruise past Castres
by Arthur Sullivan, 12 October 2008
Wasps eased to a 25-11 victory over French outfit Castres on Sunday in Pool Two of the Heineken Cup at Adams Park.
England internationals Tom Voyce, Paul Sackey and Josh Lewsey all got a try each for Wasps with fly-half Danny Cipriani kicking the rest of their points.
Captain Lionel Nallet got the Castres try and Cameron McIntyre kicked a couple of penalties but Wasps were well ahead early in the first half and the result was never in doubt.
Wasps started with a sting and had the game effectively wrapped up within 22 first-half minutes.
They came into the game with clouds hanging over them - Cipriani and Lewsey had been involved in a training ground bust-up during the week while the team's poor form sees them near the bottom of the Guinness Premiership.
However, they raced into a 17-0 lead through Voyce and Sackey tries. Sackey's effort was a study in class as he collected Riki Flutey's kick through before dancing past Rafael Carballo and then barging through a number of challenges to crash over.
Cipriani converted and added a penalty soon after to make it 10-0. Another penalty effort from the England man hit the post but Wasps collected, controlled the ball and sent Voyce over.
McIntyre put Castres on the board with a penalty but then lost Darron Nell to the sin-bin. Cipriani kicked another penalty before the break to leave it 20-3 as the sides went in.
Another McIntyre penalty after the restart kept Castres interested but then Cipriani and Lewsey combined to crush any chance of a fightback.
Cipriani kicked forward and won possession from Thomas Bouquie before releasing sparring partner Lewsey down the right. After Lewsey finished simply, the pair engaged in some lively celebrations mocking their well-publicised dust-up.
With the game effectively over, Wasps eased up and Castres took advantage of Lewsey being sin-binned to score a try.
Nallet stomped over the line after a strong spell of Castres pressure but it was a mere statistic.
London Wasps: L Mitchell; P Sackey, J Lewsey, R Flutey, T Voyce; D Cipriani, E Reddan; T Payne, R Ibanez (capt), P Vickery, S Shaw, T Palmer, J Haskell, T Rees, J Worsley.
Replacements: R Webber, P Barnard, R Birkett, S Betsen, M Robinson, D Leo, J Staunton.
Castres Olympique: T Bouquié; L Mazars, P Christophers, T Sanchou, R Carballo; C McIntyre, S Tillous Borde; G Lensing, R Terrain, L Ducalcon, R Capo Ortega, L Nallet (capt), S Malonga, D Nell, F Faure.
Replacements: A Giorgadze, Y Forestier, C Gaston, L Tomiki, P Bonnefond, K Senio, A Lagardere.
Referee: Carlo Damasco (Italy)