Wasps sting 14-man Montpellier
EUROPEAN CUP REPORT: Alfie Barbeary bagged two tries and Star of the Match award as Wasps cruised to a 33-14 win over 14-man Montpellier in Coventry on Friday.
It was an accomplished performance from the No.8, who also helped set up two other tries - with Montpellier playing with a man light for 74 minutes, after Henry Immelman was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle.
Wasps didn't capitalise immediately, with both Benoit Paillaugue and Jimmy Gopperth missing chances from the kicking tee.
They landed a first score on 22 minutes when Tom Cruse did well out wide to take Wasps close to the line before Barbeary crashed over the try line following a string of powerful phases.
Wasps had a second soon after Montpellier spilled possession close to the Wasps line, allowing Barbeary to boot away, inadvertently finding Josh Bassett who darted past three French defenders.
Two phases later, the ball reached James Gaskell who picked a hole and strolled home before dotting down.
Montpellier showed plenty of fight and scored the next two tries, either side of half-time.
The first was from Alex Lozowski who made the intercept just inside his own half and sprinted away for the try, despite pressure from Zach Kibirige.
The second came from a decent driving maul, winning penalty advantage before finding Yvan Reilhac who darted between a hole and dotted down at the posts.
That seemed to spark Wasps into action as they hit the front again minutes later, with Gopperth finding Barbeary from the scrum, with the No.8 hitting Paolo Odogwu who sprinted away from the trailing Montpellier men and dotting down at the sticks.
The bonus point was then landed for Wasps as Barbeary got his second of the evening with a typically powerful carry, before Charlie Atkinson added further gloss with the clock in the red, dipping inside his man and scoring at the posts with relative ease.
Round Three will see the two sides meet again, this time at the GGL Stadium in Montpellier.
The scorers
For Wasps
Tries: Barbeary 2, Gaskell, Odogwu, Atkinson
Cons: Gopperth 3, Atkinson
For Montpellier
Tries: Lozowski, Reilhac
Cons: Paillaugue 2
Red card: Henry Immelman (Montpellier, 6)
Yellow card: Alfie Barbeary (Wasps, 64)
Teams
Wasps: 15 Lima Sopoaga, 14 Zach Kibirige, 13 Paulo Odogwu, 12 Jimmy Gopperth, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Will Porter, 8 Alfie Barbeary, 7 Thomas Young (captain), 6 Ben Morris, 5 James Gaskell, 4 Tim Cardall, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Ben Harris.
Replacements: 16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Tom West, 18 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 19 Levi Douglas, 20 Tom Willis, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Michael Le Bourgeois, 23 Matteo Minozzi.
Montpellier: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Vincent Martin, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Arthur Vincent (captain), 11 Paul Vallée, 10 Louis Foursans, 9 Benoit Paillaugue, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Alexandre Becognee, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5 Bastien Chalureau, 4 Nico Janse van Rensburg, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Enzo Forletta.
Replacements: 16 Youri Delhommel, 17 Mikheil Nariashvili, 18 Levan Chilachava, 19 Yacouba Camara, 20 Caleb Timu, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Yvan Reilhac, 23 Gabriel N'gandebe.
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Sara Cox (England), Jamie Leahy (England)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)
Source: @ChampionsCup