Wasps boss Ian McGeechan believes his team's Heineken Cup conquerors Leinster are "in the driving seat" for a quarter-final place.
Wasps boss blasts error-ridden display
Wasps boss Ian McGeechan believes his team's Heineken Cup conquerors Leinster are "in the driving seat" for a quarter-final place.
Wasps were stung 41-11 by Leinster in Dublin on Saturday evening, suffering their second-heaviest defeat in the tournament's history.
McGeechan could offer few immediate solutions after Wasps were torn apart by a rampant Leinster side who were inspired by two-try Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll.
Wasps have now lost five games out of seven in all competitions this season, and unless they beat Edinburgh home and away when the Heineken Cup resumes in December, then they have little chance of progressing to the knock-out stages from Pool 2.
McGeechan said: "When five of the opposition tries come from turnovers, you are not going to win any game.
Double burst
"At 15-11 behind at half-time, it was everything to play for, but we made a couple of errors early in the second half, and credit to Leinster for taking their opportunities.
"Everything is now down to what we do in the four remaining group games, but Leinster are in the driving seat - there is no doubt about that."
O'Driscoll scored two tries in the opening 15 minutes before going off with a knee injury at half-time, but Wasps never recovered from his double burst as Leinster added further scores from Rob Kearney, Luke Fitzgerald, Rocky Elsom and Felipe Contepomi, who also booted four conversions and a penalty.
Wasps conjured up a contentious try for full-back Jeremy Staunton, with Danny Cipriani kicking two penalties, but they will head home to London reeling from a Heineken Cup defeat that, in terms of losing margin, only current French champions Stade Francais have eclipsed, beating them 31-0 in 2002.
A crestfallen Wasps coach Shaun Edwards, who is set to be named as part of the Lions' coaching staff in Dublin next Wednesday, added: "Leinster's kicking game was on a different planet to ours.
O'Driscoll blow
"I thought they were far the more dominant side, but what happened tonight has been the story of our season.
"But there can be no excuses. We were second-best by a long shot."
Leinster head coach Michael Cheika played down any injury fears surrounding O'Driscoll, who is a candidate to lead the Lions in South Africa next summer.
Cheika said: "The injury doesn't look too serious. Brian has taken a knock on his knee, and we made the decision to take him off at half-time."
But the news surrounding Leinster skipper Leo Cullen was nowhere near as encouraging, with the former Leicester lock taken to hospital suffering from a suspected broken collarbone.
As for taking charge of their qualifying group following two successive bonus-point victories, Cheika added: "You are never in the driving seat. "Every game is a final, and we understand that the next challenge will be another thorough test for us in this tournament.
"Wasps keep coming at you, and we knew that we needed to stand up for ourselves tonight."
