Wasps 48 Rye House 42 (From South Wales Argus)

Wasps 48 Rye House 42

11:40am Monday 6th July 2009

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NUMBER-ONE heat leader Leigh Lanham led from the front as the new-look Wasps rounded off a satisfactory weekend by landing a first British Premier League victory from seven matches.

Lanham, often a thorn in Wasps’ side over many years, signed last week alongside Swedish teenager Jonas Andersson, with veteran rider Paul Fry being handed the skipper’s armband as he succeeded the departed Mark Lemon.

Lanham notched 13 from five rides, although Andersson struggled and looked a shadow of the rider who impressed so much in the previous week’s South Wales Argus-sponsored Welsh Open Championship.

However, Andersson does have potential, and he now has a clear week to prepare for Sunday’s BPL visit of Edinburgh Monarchs – a fixture which will start at the later time of 5pm.

Another teenager, Aussie Shelby Rutherford, was also off the pace, as was American ace Chris Kerr, and with the trio only scoring five points among them, the home side relied heavily on Lanham, Fry, Frampton and reserve James Holder.

The fact the quartet held firm was the reason the Wasps went into the last of 15 heats knowing the win was assured providing they didn’t lose the race.

However, up against Lanham and Frampton were ex-Wasps favourite and visiting skipper Chris Neath plus Swede Linus Sundstrom – with the former seeking a fourth successive heat win.

And it was Neath who gated the better, although his demise at bend four of the first lap meant Sundstrom was left alone to do battle with Lanham and Frampton in the re-run.

It proved too much for Sundstrom, who trailed in a distant third behind the home duo, whose 5-1 maximum was their side’s second such race win of the day.

With half of the heats ending in 3-3 draws, the teams were locked together at 39-39 with only two heats remaining, and Frampton and Holder’s 4-2 victory in the penultimate race gave the Wasps breathing space to take into that final-heat decider.

Newport Wasps 48: 1 – Leigh Lanham 13(5); 2 – Chris Kerr 3+2(4); 3 – Jonas Andersson 2+1(4); 4 – Jordan Frampton 12+1(5); 5 – Paul Fry (c) 9+1(4); 6 – James Holder 9(5); 7 – Shelby Rutherford; 0(3).

Rye House Rockets 42: 1 – Chris Neath (c) 9(5); 2 – Luke Bowen 9(5); 3 – Linus Sundstrom 11+1(6); 4 – Rider replacement for Joe Haines; 5 – Robert Mear 7(5); 6 – Tommy Allen 3+1(4); 7 – Andrew Silver 3+3(5).

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