ULSTER-BOUND CHARLES Piutau delivered a dramatic finish to rescue victory from the jaws of defeat for Wasps in today’s Champions cup quarter-final at home to Exeter Chiefs.
Dai Young’s in-form side had trailed 6 – 14 at half-time and 11 – 24 midway through the second half after two tries from Thomas Waldrom and a riposte from Harry Williams (to Piutau’s brilliant first try above) kept the visitors firmly in the driving seat.
However, Frank Halai touched down on 64 minutes to revive hope a second time. With six points between the sides, the home side ramped up the pressure and their pack laid a platform for Wasps to launch one more attack through their star backs. And the brightest of them all, Piutau, stepped his way through traffic to the try-line.
Wasps were still a point down, and needed Jimmy Gopperth’s brilliant clutch penalty to seal a heart-stopping 25 – 24 victory.
