Injuries are becoming one of the dominant themes of the season. The casualty list which today left Wasps able to call on only 26 of the 38 players they have registered for this competition was extended when the hooker Tom Lindsay was taken from the field on a stretcher with what initial assessment suggested may be medial ligament damage.
That left Wasps' director of rugby, Tony Hanks, with something of a dilemma. The rules of Europe's second-tier competition allow him only one new registration, so it is just as well his team's next game is against Roma. "When you only get one chance you don't want to use it unnecessarily. If necessary, one of the props might be able to stand in in Italy," said Hanks.
He would also like to rest a number of those who have been ever-present in Wasps' impressive start to the season, but he may not have that option. If the decent crowd had braved the rain in the hope of seeing Racing's international players, however, they were disappointed. Lionel Nallet, Andrew Mehrtens, Sébastien Chabal and Andrea Lo Cicero stayed at home and only Francois Steyn made a line-up which contained three Frenchmen.
On a soaking and slippery pitch, both sides demonstrated a willingness to run the ball which lead to a series of handling errors, particularly on the part of the visitors. But it was they who took the lead when Steyn kicked a penalty from close to his own 10-metre line. Unfortunately, the Springbok limped off on 26 minutes, after his team had extended their lead when Tom Varndell, under pressure from Rémy Vaquin, failed to gather Jonathan Wisniewski's high kick and the ball bounced for Ashley Clarke to dive over.
Kept in touch by two Dave Walder penalties, Wasps started to make proper use of the greater mobility, fitness and drive of their smaller but faster forwards. The Racing defence was furious but often illegal and shortly before half-time the referee, John Lacey, lost patience, showing a yellow card to the massive Fijian lock Jone Qovu and awarding a penalty in front of the posts.
Walder could not miss, and three minutes after the break the stand-off gave his side the lead for the first time in the match. But the general play continued to be characterised by both sides' almost comical inability to either catch a straightforward pass or hang on to the ball in the tackle.
Time and again a promising position was squandered, usually by Wasps, but after ground-gaining midfield charges by Lachlan Mitchell and Will Matthews came to nought, a Paul Sackey run off an inside pass from Walder deep into the Racing 22 yielded yet another penalty. Again Walder was accurate, and his sixth successful kick shortly before an extended period of injury time bought Wasps sufficient breathing space to see the match out.
"The weather made it a bit stop-start but while we didn't play well, I thought we earned our penalties through the pressure we built and took our points that way," said Hanks. "I know they made a lot of changes, but they still brought a very good side and we did a professional job. This is an important competition for us."
London Wasps Mitchell; Sackey, Waldouck, Kefu (Jacobs, 79), Varndell; Walder, Simpson (Fury, 65); Payne (Bocca, 63), Lindsay (Ward, 50), Vickery (Broster, 72), Leo (Matthews, 56), Birkett, Ward-Smith, Betsen, Hart.
Pens Walder 6.
Racing Métro 92; Scarbrough; Bobo (Saubade, 72), Ward, Steyn (Taione, 26), Vakaoloa; Wisniewski, Lorée (Berry, 59); Smith, Festuccia (Diomande, 65), Merabet (Baiocco, 65), Qovu, Raiwalui, Clarke, Lane, Vaquin.
Try Clarke Con Wisniewski Pen Steyn.
Sin-bin Qovu, 39.
Referee J Lacey (Ireland) Attendance 7,841.
