Wasps director of rugby Dai Young paid tribute to his players after they ended their nine-match losing run on Saturday.
Long way to go yet says boss after Wasps halt losing streak
Wasps director of rugby Dai Young paid tribute to his players after they ended their nine-match losing run in the Premiership with victory over London Irish at Adams Park on Saturday.
The win saw Wasps stretch their lead over Newcastle to eight points after the bottom club had cut the deficit to just four less than 24 hours earlier, with their 9-9 home draw against leaders Harlequins.
Young's men had looked to be heading for a 10th successive league defeat when winger Sailosi Tagicakibau ran in the only try of the game and fly-half Steve Shingler converted to put the visitors 13-12 ahead.
But a dominant Wasps scrum forced two late penalties, landed by fly-half Nicky Robinson, who scored all of his side's points with six penalties from seven attempts.
"A lot of teams would have cracked at that stage," said Young. "I was really proud how we got back to basics.
Outstanding
"We turned the screw in the scrum and found the way to win. In difficult circumstances the players realised how important this result was, if we had lost it would have been 10 on the trot.
"It was so important to get that result and hopefully we can build on it now. This has been a difficult couple of months.
"We are certainly nowhere near out of the woods yet because Newcastle are a good team and they are going to win some of their games so we've got to keep winning. It's in our own hands."
Young also praised the Wasps supporters, adding: "The boys have worked hard and the crowd was outstanding.
"I've been really encouraged how supportive the crowd have been during a difficult time. Every time we came under pressure and looked like we were tiring they got behind us."
The victory however came at a cost, with the loss of England scrum-half Joe Simpson, who dislocated his left shoulder during the first half.
Disappointed
"It doesn't look too good," added Young, who has lost a full team to the injury list this season. "He'll have a scan and, knowing our luck, it just won't be a week out."
Irish have now won only one of their last eight matches in all competitions leading head coach Toby Booth to say: "I'm terribly disappointed for our fans who have come to watch. Wasps played with the desperation you would expect and were good for the win.
"They managed the game and the contact area better than we did and they got the upper hand in the set pieces as well.
"It came down to our management of the game in key areas of the pitch and we didn't manage it that well at all.
"We cannot sit here and lick our wounds. We've got a bit of time with the LV= Cup and have a big St Patrick's Day game coming up against Leicester at home, but it isn't going to be easy."
