Wasps stung by Sale
Wasps will be hoping that their World Cup absentees will be winging their way home as soon as possible after they lost to Sale.
By Tony Curtis
Last Updated: 05/10/07 10:00pm
London Wasps will be hoping that their World Cup absentees will be winging their way home as soon as possible after the European champions slumped to another defeat.
Wasps may hold the Heineken Cup crown, but they have now not won in their last five Premiership outings and they look a side short of confidence and ideas.
The only game they didn't lose in that run was a 24-24 draw with Worcester - and even then they had been 24-10 up going into the closing stages.
It is not quite time to hit the panic button at Adams Park yet, with the likes of Lawrence Dallaglio, Joe Worsley, Phil Vickery and Josh Lewsey among those players in action in France - however, things are looking uncomfortable for Wasps.
And it was a man who should really be in the England starting XV on Saturday that did the damage.
Charlie Hodgson had been part of the initial training squad for the tournament, only for Brian Ashton to release him.
And for the third match running, Hodgson showed exactly what England had been missing, with a superb kicking game and an 11-point haul.
Not even a couple of big hits on the fly-half could stop him, with Hodgson allaying all fears about his fitness.
Tally
Hodgson had made his mark on the game after just 10 minutes with a 20m drop goal and he doubled the score eight minutes later with his second.
By half-time, Hodgson had added a penalty to his tally to see Sale 9-0 by the break.
The only try came 13 minutes into the second half, when Lionel Faure drove over from a close range lineout.
Hodgson slotted over the conversion and although Wasps had their moments, they couldn't find any way through the Sale defence.
