Wasps and Tigers draw

Wasps and Leicester battled out a 29-29 draw at the Causeway stadium.

Wasps 29-29 Leicester

Guinness Premiership, Causeway Stadium, Saturday September 10, KO 2.45pm, live on Sky Sports

Match Stats

Wasps and Leicester played out a nerve-riddled draw at the Causeway Stadium, after neither side could find an advantage in the second half downpour.

Last season's top two showcased their qualities in an explosive first half, and went in level thanks to two tries by Tom Rees, and solo efforts from Tom Varndell and Harry Ellis.

However, as the rain set in the game became a battle and neither side gave an inch as the scores finished even at 29-29.

Two tries in the first 10 minutes got the encounter off to a flying start, as both teams opened up to play some smashing running rugby early on.

First Wasps put together a fine move, eventually setting up Tom Rees for his first of two scores. Dynamic passing and running from the Wasps backline saw Stuart Abbott take full advantage of a slip by Daryl Gibson, to set up the opportunity for Rees.

The Tigers fought back immediately however, and Alex King afforded a gift of a try to the visitors, throwing a cut-out pass straight into the path of Tom Varndell, who coasted to the line.

The game then gave way to a more tetchy affair, with both teams desperate to stop quick ball at the breakdown.

Andy Goode was lucky to avoid punishment after his cynical foul stopped Paul Sackey breaking through, but Shane Jennings was less fortunate moments later, and he saw yellow for holding onto Jonny O'Connor long after the tackle had been made.

Rees instantly made the extra man advantage pay with a glorious score. Using the decoy of two wingers on the same flank, Rees burst through from 20 yards to open up a seven point lead.

However, Harry Ellis soon added to his reputation five minutes before half time, making the most of a shambolic Wasps line-out to hack on and dive on the ball.

The early stages of the second half were most notable for the loss of Rees, who was carried off with a suspected broken leg.

The game became very disrupted after the break as both coaches made changes to freshen up their packs, and heavy rain made handling a lottery.

A mistake by Paul Sackey gave Leicester the chance to grab a vital score midway through the second half, and Pat Howard's men surprisingly passed up the opportunity of three easy points to apply pressure through a scrum. Martin Corry was eventually stopped by a mammoth tackle by Alex King on the line.

The weather really prevented the running rugby of the first half, and Goode was severely disturbed as he slipped when the try-line begged him to score.

Both teams applied a pressure game in the wet conditions, hoping to capitalise from any error caused by the rain, but a late score failed to arrive and Goode missed a late drop goal by mere inches.

Wasps (23) 29
Tries: Rees 2
Cons: Van Gisbergen 2
Pens: Van Gisbergen 5

Leicester (23) 29
Tries: Varndell, Ellis
Cons: Goode 2
Pens: Goode 5