Rugby story by Georgina Scane, Mon, 20 Feb 2006 20:44:00 GMT


Bristol's miserable run of four straight Guinness Premiership losses came to an end yesterday as they held the London Wasps to a 9-9 draw. It was a rough encounter that will be remembered for gritty display rather than a stellar one from both teams.

It must be admitted that the prevailing conditions were less than ideal as the heavy rain plus the continuous drizzle had dampened the playing surface that discouraged any creative play right from the word go.

Stuart Abbott, Wasps center retired after only 11 minutes with a bruised shin and his injury must really have put a dampener on any ambitious forays from either side. Dan Ward-Smith and Lee Robinson were exceptional for Bristol, but the game was played out gingerly. Tommy Hayes converted a simple penalty for Bristol, while Mark van Gisbergen pulled it back for Wasps. They went ahead 9-6 in injury time in the first half thanks to Jeremy Staunton, but Strange equalized for Bristol and the scores stayed level thereafter.

Wasps' coach, Ian McGeechan, was disappointed with the draw, "We didn't really establish enough good positions," he said. "We knew Bristol would be competitive. We coped with them earlier at the Causeway and we could perhaps have coped better today."

But his counterpart Richard Hill was delighted, "That has stopped a run of four losses in the Premiership. Hard work and concentration were the key," he said. "We're at the business end of the season now and we're going to have to forsake some attacking adventure in search of the points that will keep us up. I'm happy with the two we secured here. Very happy, actually."

Match Details
Referee: A Rowden (Berkshire).

Bristol: B Stortoni (V Going, 69); L Robinson, R Higgitt, S Cox, D Lemi; T Hayes (J Strange, 52), S Perry; D Hilton, M Regan, D Crompton, N Budgett (M Sambucetti, 69), G Llewellyn, M Salter (capt), C Short, D Ward-Smith.

Wasps: M Van Gisbergen; P Sackey, R Hoadley, S Abbott (A Erinle, 10), T Voyce (F Waters, 58); J Staunton, M Dawson; T Payne, J Barrett (B Gotting, 51), P Bracken (E Va'a, 46), S Shaw, G Skivington, D Leo, T Rees (J O'Connor, 54), L Dallaglio (capt).

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