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Red card mayhem as three sent off in Leicester victory over Wasps
By PA
Leicester recorded a convincing 27-8 victory over Wasps at Welford Road in a Gallagher Premiership match that had three red cards.
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The Tigers led 11-3 when their try-scorer Jacob Wiese was dismissed after 26 minutes but the hosts extended their advantage by another three points before Wasps prop Kieran Brookes saw red to even up the numbers.
Julian Montoya and Tommy Reffell crossed for further tries either side of Tom Cruse’s effort for Wasps before Leicester back-rower Hanro Liebenberg was sent off with two minutes left.
It was a landmark afternoon for three visiting players, with Welsh international Will Rowlands making his 100th Wasps appearance while James Gaskell and Josh Bassett both reached a century of Premiership appearances for the club.
However the game did not start well for Wasps as they fell behind to a third-minute try when Wiese finished off a driving line-out.
Zack Henry missed the touchline conversion and then a straightforward 45-metre penalty but Tigers continued to dominate the opening period as Wasps were penned in their own half.
Henry was presented with another 45-metre opportunity and this time he made no mistake before Jimmy Gopperth responded with a simple penalty to leave the visitors trailing 8-3.
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Henry kicked his second penalty in the 22nd minute before turning down another simple kick at goal in favour of an attacking line-out.
The decision proved to be unwise as Wiese charged into the resulting maul with his shoulder catching the head of Wasps flanker Ben Morris and, after TMO replays, was sent off.
Wasps temporarily lost Morris to a head injury assessment and they suffered a further setback when Henry knocked over a long-range penalty to give Leicester a thoroughly merited 14-3 interval lead.
Soon after the restart, Brookes was sent off for a head-high challenge on Tigers lock Tomas Lavanini, and Tigers were quick to capitalise when Montoya finished off a driving line-out.
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Kieran Brookes is off for a collision with Lavanini.
That's our FOURTH red of the weekend. ?
We're 14v14! #GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/m6iBlziZQU
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) February 20, 2021
Wasps brought on backs Jacob Umaga and Michael Le Bourgeois in an attempt to reverse their fortunes but their lightweight pack – that was missing Joe Launchbury, Jack Willis and Thomas Young – were no match for their counterparts.
They were battered in the scrums and second best in the loose and should have fallen further behind but Henry missed an angled penalty.
However a superb touch-finder from Umaga secured his side a rare platform, five metres out from the opposition line from where Cruse forced his way over.
Speechless. ?
Hanro Liebenberg picks up the third red of the game and our fifth of the weekend. ?#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/Ct3uhjzeJh
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) February 20, 2021
Umaga missed the conversion before a Henry penalty and a close-range try from Reffell rewarded Leicester’s limited but effective game-plan, before Liebenberg became the third red card in the 78th minute for taking a man out in the air.
