Rugby Union: French Connection Makes Good Reading for Edwards

During the second half, as Leicester's pack rumbled ominously forward in an attempt to break through Wasps' defensive barricades, the Wasps defensive coach, Shaun Edwards, was caught on television reading a book. It was a pretty bold statement that he at least was relaxed as his side put a stranglehold on Leicester, a team that had destroyed Gloucester here a week earlier.

Wasps had also suffered at Leicester's hands, a play-off defeat three weeks ago ending their own chances of winning a domestic title. Edwards and his director of rugby, Ian McGeechan, did not relish a three-week break in which they could not even find a side to give them a decent warm-up match.

One problem for downcast Wasps was how to shore up their front row. At Welford Road, Phil Vickery had been moved to loose-head prop to counter the scrummaging power of Julian White, Wasps' leading loose head Tim Payne having succumbed to a knee ligament injury against Leinster in their quarter-final of this competition, sidelining him for the rest of the season.

Vickery's afternoon at Leicester was not a comfortable one. White's previous destruction of Munster's loose head Marcus Horan had helped give the Tigers a home quarter-final.

But the Wasps coaches pulled a rabbit out of a hat by handing a first competitive start to Tom French, a 23-year-old Old Harrovian who, with the greatest of respect to him, would almost certainly go unrecognized in his own street. The fact that French's name appeared in yesterday's match program indicated that the coach's decision was not something they had dreamt up overnight.

Vickery was moved back to his familiar No3 spot and Wasps importantly achieved a parity of the scrums. It was a bold, unexpected move by Wasps who scored the game's two decisive tries through similar bold, unexpected moves. Raphael Ibanez's throws to the front of two lineouts fooled a Leicester side who were convinced a domestic treble was theirs for the taking. "Sometimes in the heat of battle you don't pick up these things on the pitch," said Leicester's head coach, Pat Howard.

Alex King, the Wasps fly-half, was playing his first game since injuring his knee against the Irish province in the quarter-final. Eventually King's successful kicks put Wasps out of range. He revealed that last week, to take the edge off any rustiness, French had scrummed against Vickery in an A-team against the first team.

King said: "Tom was pretty much the man of the match. He scrummed so well against Phil that he was able to go toe to toe with Julian White. We knew then that he would not let us down."

King, at 32, is now at the end of his Wasps contract and says he will go away and weigh up his options for the future. His past is a glittering one. The fly-half has now won a total of 10 trophies, including two Heineken Cups, in Wasps colors.

Lawrence Dallaglio, another experienced European campaigner, said afterwards that while yesterday's victory outranked Wasps' unexpected triumph here against Toulouse three years ago, the club now need more investment to stay level with the likes of Leicester in the future.

"Leicester have a big advantage in money and facilities but we have been able to stand toe to toe with them in recent years because we are a club that has sold. But we have to address certain issues if we are to make progress," he said.

Meanwhile a crestfallen Martin Corry, Dallaglio's opposite number, admitted his side had been outplayed. Leicester's captain said: "In the second half we gave everything. I looked in the lads' eyes and there was nothing more any of them could give. We come away with a huge amount of pride and our spirits intact. Pat has rotated the squad all season and has taken a lot of flak for it but he's managed to keep us all fresh and fired up for what has been a really difficult last few weeks, but we were beaten by a better side."