- Bristol Bears +4 h’cap (5/6)
- Ben Earl anytime try-scorer 9/4
While the team line-ups bear little resemblance to the last time Wasps and Bristol met in Round 20 of the Gallagher Premiership, we could be set for another try-fest given the attacking quality on show in the first of the semi-finals at the Ricoh Arena.
That game finished 59-35 to Wasps but the Bears fielded an under-strength squad that was by no means disgraced in a rousing second-half performance.
Only Max Malins, who started at fly-half on that occasion but comes in at full-back for the injured Charles Piutau second time around, survives from that clash a month ago.
Arguments can be put forward to back either side’s claims but, given how dangerous the Bears are, the bookies could be playing with fire by giving them as many as four points on the handicap.
As they recently showed in their recent European Challenge Cup wins against Bordeaux-Begles and Newport Gwent Dragons, they are capable of flicking the attacking switch and racking up the points in an instant.
Wasps have a good, settled look about them and having Joe Launchbury back in the engine room is a major plus but the way Harlequins exposed them defensively in Round 21 will give plenty of encouragement to Pat Lam.
Semi’s semi?
Whatever happens in the game, Lee Blackett has done a marvellous job in turning Wasps from a side struggling in 10th to title contenders.
But as midfield rock Malakai Fekitoa said in the press this week, stopping Semi Radradra is a nigh on an impossible task.
The only way that Wasps can negate his impact is by depriving him of the ball but then that opens up holes for others like Siale Piutau and Luke Morahan to exploit.
In what we regard as a 50:50 game, it is hard to ignore the firepower that Bristol possess, and we’ll take the +4 points (5/6) on offer on the handicap.
Ben Earl, the Premiership’s joint-top try-scorer at the end of the regular season, with 11 tries at an average rate of one every 83 minutes, is a juicy 9/4 to be an any-time try-scorer.
