Official RBS 6 Nations Rugby : Corry wary of angry Wasps

Martin Corry

Corry wary of angry Wasps

28 March 2008, 8:54 am

By PA Sport

Leicester captain Martin Corry hopes to avoid any sting in the tail when Tigers' fierce rivals Wasps arrive at Welford Road on Saturday.

Just a week after Corry and company ended Wasps’ Cup hopes, they could deal their Premiership title play-off chances a significant setback.

Wasps, champions three times in the last five seasons, are scrapping to secure a top-four finish.

They are currently eight points behind fourth-placed Harlequins, albeit with two games in hand, and cannot afford to fall any further adrift.

To compound their task, they will also arrive in the east midlands without captain Lawrence Dallaglio, who is serving a one-week ban imposed by his club.

Dallaglio faces a Rugby Football Union disciplinary hearing next Tuesday after being cited for allegedly striking Tigers prop Julian White last weekend.

But Corry, a driving force behind Leicester’s 34-24 Millennium Stadium victory, admits: “They (Wasps) will be hurting.

“The rivalry between the two sides has been going on for a decade.

“The way we started last weekend made a statement of intent. We showed what the defence of the Cup meant to us, and I was delighted with our attitude.

“We gave away two soft tries, but that did not detract from our determination.”

Wasps, remarkably, have lost on all 17 previous visits to Welford Road in the league, while Tigers know they could go top if Bath and Gloucester both lose tricky away assignments.

Bath head coach Steve Meehan makes several changes for the clash against Sale Sharks at Edgeley Park on Friday night, notably at fly-half, where Shaun Berne replaces Olly Barkley.

Up front, England prop Matt Stevens switches from tighthead to loosehead instead of David Flatman, and the highly-rated Chris Goodman starts at number eight.

Meehan said: “We’ve got to a stage where there are a couple of guys who have pretty much been running covered in Band Aids.

“We have had our eye on those guys and have been a little concerned about them from a fatigue point of view.”

Sale will be without England prop Andrew Sheridan because of an elbow injury suffered in training, although he is expected to be fit for next week’s European Challenge Cup quarter-final visit of Brive.

Gloucester make a short journey up the M5 to Worcester on Saturday, where they face a Warriors side needing one more win to set a club record of four games unbeaten during the same Premiership season.

The Cherry and Whites, meanwhile, have suffered five successive away defeats in all competitions - their worst sequence on the road since the 1999/2000 campaign.

Struggling Newcastle are next up for Quins, the Premiership’s form team with 23 points collected from their last six games. Falcons, in contrast, have lost four league matches on the bounce.

Newcastle head south without injured England centre Jamie Noon - hurt during the 16-15 defeat against bottom club Leeds Carnegie last week.

Andrea Marcato's last-minute drop goal handed Scotland their fourth defeat in this year's RBS 6 Nations - but Frank Hadden's men avoided a second successive wooden spoon by the skin of their teeth.

It was a popular pre-tournament tip to be this season's RBS 6 Nations title decider - but England and Ireland are playing only for pride at Twickenham on Saturday.

Richard Hill reflected on a "very special 15 years" as he ended his illustrious rugby career after Saracens' last-gasp 25-20 Premiership victory over Bristol at Milton Keynes.