Jack Willis helps Wasps into final as they overwhelm careless Bristol
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Jack Willis again stood out in front of the England head coach, Eddie Jones, as Wasps powered to their second appearance in the Premiership final since they last won it in 2008. It was a surprisingly one-sided semi-final and Bristol now have to shake themselves down for Friday’s European Challenge Cup final against Toulon in France.
Willis scored Wasps’ second try near the end of the first-half to give his side a 23-5 interval lead that proved too much for Bristol to haul back. When the Bears did mount a response, the flanker prevented Callum Sheedy from scoring a try by putting his body between the ball and the ground.
Related: Wasps 47-24 Bristol: Premiership semi-final – as it happened!
He was a constant menace over the ball as Wasps revived their former coach Shaun Edwards’s technique of bringing a ball carrier to ground with a tackle around the legs for others to immediately forage for possession and force either a turnover or a penalty. It earned them a regular supply of penalties and denied Bristol any momentum.
Wasps kept it tight initially and took the lead from a lineout after nine minutes when Dan Robson, another whose name will have been taken by Jones, chipped to the line with the outside of his right boot for Malakai Fekitoa to pick up and score.
It was the All Black’s final contribution. He had twice been treated for a leg injury, the first time after felling his opposite number Semi Radradra, and conceded defeat after wincing as he started to jog back. It was testament to the home side’s domination that they barely missed one of their key players.
Three Jimmy Gopperth penalties, part of his haul of 22 points, kept Wasps on top in the opening half when Bristol’s only score was a Luke Morahan try. After Bristol threatened a comeback when Harry Thacker was at the back of a driving maul, a Gopperth penalty was followed by Robson scoring from a quickly taken penalty as the referee, Matt Carley, was explaining his decision to the Bears.
Zach Kibirige and Matteo Minozzi added tries with a flourish as Wasps started to strut, but Bristol kept going and were rewarded with tries by Harry Randall and Max Malins. They were consolations, but Bristol are not likely to have to wait another 13 years to appear at this stage again.