Worsley set to face Leicester

Ian Laybourn
Friday 27 December 2002 01:00 GMT
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Wasps expect to have the England flanker Joe Worsley back for their biggest match of the season, the visit of the champions, Leicester, to High Wycombe today.

Worsley has been out for more than two months with hamstring trouble, but should get the green light to make a comeback, probably from the bench, in front of a sell-out 10,000 crowd at Adams Park.

"Leicester are the European champions and are still the premier team in British rugby," said the Wasps coach, Shaun Edwards, yesterday. "They're very hard to crack defensively and they've got an outstanding pack of forwards."

Wasps have won just one of their last eight Premiership games against Leicester, but went down only 9-6 at Welford Road last month and the Tigers director of rugby, Dean Richards, expects a tough test. "Wasps are a very difficult side," he said. "we always find them hard to beat."

Richards looks set to bring back regulars who were rested for the Powergen Cup win over Worcester last Saturday, including Tim Stimpson and Geordan Murphy, who are vying for the full-back role.

Murphy was named man of the match after deputising for Stimpson in Leicester's recent Heineken Cup win over Béziers to leave Richards with a selection poser.

But he insisted: "We don't see it as a dilemma. They are both capable players, whether they are playing at full-back or on the wing. I suppose it's something of a luxury."

While Leicester seek to avoid a hat-trick of Premiership defeats for the first time for more than five years, Wasps aim to capitalise on their recent win at Leeds. After a flat spell before beating the Yorkshire side to close to within a point of Leicester, Edwards says it is crucial for Wasps to maintain their push for a Heineken Cup spot.

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