Worsley leads Wasps to Kingston Park
Joe Worsley will lead Wasps to the North of England this weekend as the Londoners look to keep their LV=Cup hopes alive, battling Newcastle Falcons.
Joe Worsley leads Wasps in LV=Cup clash
Worsley takes the captaincy reins from the injured John Hart and makes his 283rd competitive appearance for the men in black and gold. In contrast, Rugby League convert Lee Smith will make his first start for Wasps since joining in December, named on the wing in place of Tom Varndell ruled out with a foot sprain.
Mark Van Gisbergen comes back to the starting line up, recovering from the sickness that ruled him out of last weekend’s clash with Scarlets, and the last change in the back division sees Mark Robinson start at outside half.
The front row sees a return of young gun Bob Baker, switching places with Ben Broster on the bench. Dan Ward-Smith, fresh from training with the England EPS squad, comes into the second row in place of the injured Dan Leo and Hugo Ellis wears the No. 8 jersey.
On the bench England U20s lock, Peter Elder, and fly half Eoghan Hickey are named.
Looking ahead to the game, Director of Rugby Tony Hanks said, “From the beginning we have made our intentions in this competition clear and we were disappointed to miss out against Scarlets last weekend. There is a lot of pride in the Wasps jersey and every single player will be looking for a strong performance on Sunday. We are aware that a win may not be enough to secure a spot in the LV=Cup Semi Final, but we will focus on our own game and what we can control.
“It is hard to ignore the injury list at the Club at the moment but as we call on our full squad to step up, what better chance for our younger players to pick up invaluable experience. Similarly this is a great platform to allow Lee Smith to find his feet in the union game, led by one of the most established players in international rugby in Joe Worsley.
“Newcastle at home are never an easy ask and with nothing to lose we expect a highly competitive game – one which I hope will provide an entertaining afternoon of rugby and for us a worthy display which could keep qualification on the cards.”
London Wasps team to face Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park in the LV=Cup on Sunday, KO 3pm:
15. Mark Van Gisbergen
14. Lee Smith
13. Ben Jacobs
12. Steve Kefu
11. David Lemi
10. Dave Walder
9. Mark Robinson
1. Sakaria Taulafo
2. Joe Ward
3. Bob Baker
4. Marty Veale
5. Dan Ward-Smith
6. Joe Worsley (C)
7. Will Matthews
8. Hugo Ellis
16. Tom Lindsay
17. Gabriel Bocca
18. Ben Broster
19. Peter Elder
20. Mark Odejobi
21. James Honeyben
22. Eoghan Hickey
23. Lachlan Mitchell
Newcastle Falcons
15 Alex Tait
14 Danny Williams
13 Rob Vickerman
12 Tane Tu'ipulotu
11 Charlie Amesbury
10 Rob Miller
9 Hall Charlton (captain)
1 Micky Ward
2 Alex Walker
3 Matt Thompson
4 Peter Browne
5 Filipo Levi
6 Mark Wilson
7 Brent Wilson
8 Josh Afu
Replacements
16 Kieran Brookes
17 Carl Hayman
18 Grant Shiells
19Will Welch
20 Alex Gray
21 Chris Pilgrim
22 Jimmy Gopperth
23 Tom Biggs
