Wasps get some international sting
Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:56
All of London Wasps players who were on Six Nations duty last weekend return to club action on Saturday for Wasps' EDF Energy semifinal clash with Leicester Tigers in cardiff.
England backs Paul Sackey and Danny Cipriani replace Mark Van Gisbergen and Dave Walder, with Eoin Reddan reclaiming the No.9 shirt from Mark McMillan.
Phil Vickery, Simon Shaw and James Haskell return to the pack, Haskell joining captain Lawrence Dallaglio and John Hart in the back row, with both England international flank Tom Rees (knee) and Joe Worsley (foot) failing to make the matchday 22 due to injury.
Director of Rugby, Ian McGeechan said: "There is no doubt that this is the biggest challenge we've faced to date this season.
"When you are in the knock out stages of any competition, you expect the opposition to raise the bar, and Leicester will be no exception.
"Of course, that requires us to do the same but I think that the history of big games between our two sides has consistently shown that Wasps and Leicester bring out the best in each other."
Commenting on the team selection, McGeechan said: "It's good to welcome back those players who have been away on international duty, but it's important from a club perspective that they can successfully don their Wasps hats once again and fulfil the roles we expect them to play for the club. The game will also provide a fantastic experience for our younger players, with the expectation and big game atmosphere at the Millennium Stadium a stern challenge for them."
London Wasps: 15 Josh Lewsey, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Fraser Waters, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 David Doherty, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio (captain), 7 James Haskell, 6 John Hart, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Phil Vickery, 2 Raphael Ibañez, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Joe Ward, 17 Tom French, 18 George Skivington, 19 Dan Leo, 20 Mark McMillan,
21 Dave Walder, 22 Dominic Waldouck.
Date: Saturday, 22 March
Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 14.30 (GMT)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Touch judges: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales), Jon Mason (Wales)
Television match official: Derek Bevan (Wales)
