Wasps' play-off ambition lifted by Sackey flourish

*RUGBY UNION

NEWCASTLE 13 WASPS 32

The last time Wasps were at Kingston Park, back in February, they were confronted by a 75mph wind that forced the postponement of this Guinness Premiership fixture until the last week of the regulation season. Three months on, the European champions of 2007 did not exactly enjoy a breeze on a balmy early-summer night on Tyneside. Indeed, before the interval, the wind was somewhat taken out of their sails by a Newcastle side featuring nine changes to the side that did for Leicester here last Sunday.

With one sweeping counter-attack three minutes into the second- half, though, Ian McGeechan's men effectively wrapped up the win that puts them third in the table - behind Gloucester and Bath - going into Saturday's final round of fixtures. The move was launched from deep and finished with a flourish - Paul Sackey, taking the slickest of scoring feeds from Danny Cipriani.

The only surprise thereafter was that it took until the 75th minute for Josh Lewsey to claim a bonus point score that sends Wasps to Leeds on Saturday needing to win, and Bath to lose at Gloucester, if they are to claim a home tie in the play-off semi-finals.

There was no Jonny Wilkinson in the home line-up, and no Toby Flood, Jamie Noon or Mathew Tait either - the latter having been deprived of a farewell home game by a late hip problem. Still, the Falcons were first to get points on the board, Tom May landing a sixth-minute penalty.

A Cipriani penalty was all Wasps had to show for their efforts at the end of the first quarter but their pressure soon told, openside flanker James Haskell diving over from a close-range ruck.

Not that there was an opening of the floodgates. Indeed, May hared away to score in the corner for Newcastle before Wasps stung again, an attack finished with a close-quarter dive over the line by the Wasps back-rower Tom Rees.

Cipriani's conversion gave Wasps a seven-point cushion but they were pegged back to 15-13 three minutes before the interval, Newcastle's outside-half Steve Jones chipping into the right corner for May to feed a scoring pass to wing Ollie Phillips.

Sackey's early second-half score ended the game as a contest and then, with five minutes remaining, Lewsey broke the home defensive line to touch down the bonus point score to the right of the posts.

Newcastle: Tries May, Phillips; Penalty May. Wasps: Tries Haskell, Rees, Sackey, Lewsey; Conversions Cipriani 3; Penalties Cipriani 2

Newcastle: A Tait (R Miller, 12); O Phillips, T May, T Visser, J Rudd; S Jones, H Charlton (M Young, 59); M Ward (D Wilson, 48), M Thompson, C Hayman, A Perry, M Sorensen (A Perry, 61), P Dowson (capt) (P Browne, 53), B Wilson (E Williamson, 48), R Winter.

Wasps: R Flutey; P Sackey, F Waters (M van Gisbergen, 41), D Waldouck, J Lewsey; D Cipriani (J Staunton, 76), E Reddan; T Payne, J Ward (J Buckland, 59), P Barnard (T French, 50), G Skivington (S Shaw, 59), R Birkett, J Haskell, T Rees, J Hart (capt) (J Worsley, 68).

Referee: R Debney (Leicestershire).

Premiership table, digest, page 55

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