Walder stars in Wasps' win
Stand-in fly-half Dave Walder was the star of the show as Harlequins claimed a hard-fought 29-25 victory over Harlequins.
Last Updated: 09/03/08 6:00pm
Stand-in fly-half Dave Walder was the star of the show as Harlequins claimed a hard-fought 29-25 victory over Harlequins in the Guinness Premiership.
With England exile Danny Cipriani on the bench after missing midweek training, Walder took his place in the starting XV and booted a flawless 19 points with four penalties, two conversions and a dropped goal.
Walder was quickly on the scoresheet when converting a Raphael Ibanez try in the fourth minute, the Frenchman crashing over after a powerful drive.
Visiting stand-off Adrian Jarvis reduced it to 7-3 with a penalty and then, after Walder had kicked his first three-pointer, was instrumental in the scores being levelled after 28 minutes.
His crossfield kick evaded Wasps wing Mark Van Gisbergen and full-back Mike Brown picked up the pieces, putting in centre Hal Luscombe for the score.
Walder added a penalty and just before half-time the Wasps advantage was stretched to 23-10 when centre Dominic Waldouck scored their second try after bursts by Ibanez and Worsley, with Walder adding the conversion again and dropping a goal with the last kick.
Jarvis and Walder traded penalties after the break but a breakaway try from Ugo Monye kept the visitors in touch - the left wing outpacing Josh Lewsey to touch down after a 60m dash to the line.
Cipriani was introduced for the last 20 minutes at full-back with Lewsey taking over from Van Gisbergen oon the wing, but Walder retained kicking duties and extended the lead again with a penalty 10 minutes from time.
A Tom Guest try and Chris Malone conversion revived Harlequins hopes, and they turned down two kickable penalties late on in pursuit of a try, but then kicked away possession as the final whistle loomed.