Leicester Tigers vs Wasps match report: Jimmy Gopperth stars in bonus-point win at Welford Road

Leicester Tigers 22-34 Wasps: It was the visitors first win at the ground since 2008

Jimmy Gopperth wrestles through the tackle (Getty Images)

Wasps cemented their new-found status as top dogs in the English Midlands with a bonus-point victory at Leicester to make it two wins from two for the Coventry-based side.

Star turn Jimmy Gopperth finished off a line-out drive for the visitors’ fourth try in the last minute and converted it to seal a first win by the visitors at Welford Road since 2008.

By that stage Leicester were two men down with Ellis Genge and Peter Betham in the sin bin, as the Tigers’ attempts to bring off a second dramatic comeback in two weeks fell apart.

England centre Manu Tuilagi was absent again from the Leicester match squad, having played just 27 times for the club across the last three seasons and last week’s win at Gloucester. “His groin is a bit tight, he’s not right to play and we have to look after him,” said Richard Cockerill, the director of rugby.

And while Cockerill, who started his playing career with Coventry RFC, may not be willing just yet to embrace Wasps as proper local rivals, neither he nor anyone else in the 26,000 crowd packed into Welford Road could deny their all-round quality.

Gopperth landed an early penalty and only some later blips from the kicking tee detracted from another classy display out of position at inside centre to go with last Sunday’s opening win at home to Exeter.

Wasps’ Ireland tighthead prop Marty Moore was penalised for pulling a scrum down and Freddie Burns levelled at 3-3 after 20 minutes, but Gopperth’s second penalty soon had Wasps back in front.

Gopperth seems to have almost everything going for him right now and it was his tackle and clever strip of the ball from home flanker Luke Hamilton that began Christian Wade’s opening try for Wasps after 25 minutes. Gopperth raced clear down the left before dabbing a grubber diagonally inside. The super-swift Wade had been tracking faithfully and he outpaced half a dozen chasing Tigers to pick up adroitly just before plunging over the goalline. Gopperth converted for 13-3.

Guy Thompson touches down for Wasps (Getty Images)

Leicester’s recent signing JP Pietersen has taken to Premiership rugby like a duck to water and the Springbok star hounded Wasps’ Josh Bassett into a fumble on the left wing to help Leicester to their first try scored by No.8 Lachlan McCaffrey in the 31st minute.

Any southern-hemisphere types who hold a blinkered view of English rugby as the home of kick-and-hope might have been feeling justified as both teams kicked from hand repeatedly in the damp conditions.

Half a minute before half-time, Leicester went off their feet after a tackle on Wade in their 22, but Gopperth missed the penalty to the right.

The second half was only 60 seconds old when Wasps No.8 Guy Thompson, starting in place of the benched Nathan Hughes, collected a scrappy loose ball and galloped through a thicket of Leicester forwards for a try converted by Gopperth.

Leicester had achieved a club-record comeback to win from trailing by 24 points at Gloucester. But they have not been looking as proficient as some other rivals at moving the ball and clearing rucks.

By contrast, Thomas Young and Sam Jones were creating useful havoc for Wasps, to show the departure of Wallaby great George Smith from last season’s back row might not hurt the team 25 miles away up the M69 too much.

Jones’s try from an electric blindside surge off a wheeling scrum by Young and Joe Simpson was converted by Gopperth for 27-8 after 46 minutes.

Leicester responded quickly, as they had to, after Pietersen’s boot on a cross-kick by Burns helped set up Ed Slater for the score.

And penalties by Burns after 52 and 55 reduced the gap to eight points, which would have been five if the fly-half hadn’t missed from long range on 60 minutes after a high tackle by Danny Cipriani.

Tigers felt they were in the ascendancy now and yet another penalty conceded by Wasps was kicked to the corner by Burns. Though no score came directly from it, there was a yellow card to Thompson for a no-arms tackle on Peter Betham, and Burns converted the penalty to leave Wasps 27-22 up with 16 minutes remaining.

Danny Cipriani started at fly-half for the visitors (Getty Images)

But the one-way traffic abated when Leicester’s replacement tighthead Greg Bateman dropped a scrum – even if Daly, from a metre inside Wasps’ half, slid his penalty attempt narrowly wide.

Wasps worked hard again to defend a maul from a well-placed Leicester line-out and as Tigers grew increasingly desperate their poor discipline undid them. Bateman came into the side of a maul, Genge went to the sin bin in the 76th minute for upending James Gaskell, and Betham followed him after a deliberate knock-on.

Gopperth surprisingly missed the kicks for the first two offences but with Leicester down to 13 men, he was the scorer off a line-out to secure the bonus point followed by an exultant conversion.

“It’s been a long, long time for Wasps here and to come away with five points makes it a huge start to the season,” said Gopperth.

Scorers:

Leicester Tigers:

Tries: McCaffrey, Slater Penalties: Burns 4

Wasps:

Tries: Wade, Thompson, Jones, Gopperth Conversions: Gopperth 4 Penalties: Gopperth 2.

Leicester Tigers: M Tait; A Thompstone, P Betham, M Smith (O Williams 64), JP Pietersen; F Burns, S Harrison (rep B Youngs, 56 mins); M Ayerza (E Genge 45), T Youngs (capt; G McGuigan 64), D Cole (G Bateman 64), E Slater (G Kitchener 56), M Fitzgerald, L Hamilton (M Williams 56), B O’Connor, L McCaffrey.

Wasps: R Miller; C Wade, E Daly, J Gopperth, J Bassett (F Halai 58); D Cipriani, J Simpson; S McIntyre (M Mullan 64), T Taylor (A Johnson 66), M Moore (J Cooper-Woolley 56), J Launchbury (capt), M Symons (J Gaskell 64), S Jones, T Young (N Hughes 56), G Thompson.