Rugby union: Dallaglio leaves mark on the Irish

London Irish 24 Wasps 36

THE LONDON IRISH half-backs, James Brown and Peter Richards, will have good cause to remember the return of Lawrence Dallaglio. The England back-row forward flattened both of them in the course of raising the Wasps standard.

Brown, a slightly built stand- off, might have thought he had gone through a combine harvester when he was hit by a Dallaglio tackle, while Richards was pole-axed by a hand-off of such ferocity it took him out of the game, his right eye cut and closed.

Dallaglio, playing his first game since losing the Tetley's Bitter Cup final to Saracens in May, made his presence felt in every respect. A crowd of nearly 4,000 regarded Dallaglio as public enemy No 2, after their prime target, the referee Chris Reeks.

Mark Weedon may be the new Wasps captain but Dallaglio, leader of club and country last season, was the spokesman. When he wasn't addressing his pack, he was having a running discourse with the referee, and the crowd felt it amounted to intimidation. "The only comments I made were positive and constructive," Dallaglio said. "I didn't have the breath to do that much talking. I'm still not match fit."

One of the most disappointing aspects for Dick Best is that the Irish, having raised their game towards the end of the first half and the beginning of the second to transform a 17-3 deficit into a 24-20 lead, failed to capitalise. "We should have put them to bed," the Irish coach said.

Best has always had a reputation for being a hard taskmaster and the squad, some of whom feel they are tired after being overtrained, fear the worst today.

London Irish: Tries Woods, Venter; Conversions Woods; Penalties Woods 3, O'Shea. Wasps: Tries Scrase, Volley, Roiser, Logan; Conversions Logan 2; Penalties Logan 4.

London Irish: C O'Shea (capt); J Bishop (S Berridge, 57; M Jarvis, 78), B Venter, R Todd, N Woods; J Brown (M Jones, 73), P Richards (K Campbell, 60); M Worsley, R Kirke, K Fullman (R Hardwick h-t), N Harvey, M O'Kelly, R Gallacher, K Spicer, K Dawson.

Wasps: J Ufton; S Roiser, L Scrase, R Henderson, K Logan; J Lewsey, A Gomarsall; D Molloy, D Macer, W Green, M Weedon (capt) A Reed (S Shaw, 60), L Dallaglio, J Worsley (E Rollett, 70), P Volley.

Referee: C Reeks (Midlands).