Sting in the tail for Irish

Wasps came from behind in the final quarter of their clash against London Irish to secure a 33-25 victory at Adams Park.

After trailing 18-16 against their London rivals Wasps fly-half David Walder kicked 18 points to overhaul the Exiles and prevent them reclaiming top spot in the Aviva Premiership.

Even a 78th minute try from Paulica Ion that looked to have secured the visitors a losing bonus point was cancelled out by Walder, who struck a penalty in the last minute.

Walder put Wasps in front in the sixth minute after opposite number Ryan Lamb had seen his earlier effort drift wide of the posts.

Stepped up

But when England loosehead prop Tim Payne was penalised after a scrum collapse under his posts Lamb stepped up to level the scores.

Walder and Lamb both missed further penalty attempts but on 21 minutes it was the former's tap-and-go that sparked the opening try.

Tom Varndell made yards up the left before stepping inside and quick hands from the Wasps attack found Steve Kefu.

The former Wallabies' centre delivered a slick offload to Ben Jacobs who needed no encouragement to blast his way through four tackles and touch down.

Walder added the extras to make it 10-3 but the Exiles reply came swiftly as number eight Chris Hala'ufia made a powerful break up the left before feeding Paul Hodgson inside for the score.

Lamb missed the chance to even things up with his conversion and minutes later Walder extended the hosts' lead with another penalty.

Wasps lost Payne to the sin bin three minutes from half-time when he went offside after warnings from the referee about conceding penalties at the breakdown.

Lamb slotted the resulting penalty to take the score to 13-11 but full-back Jamie Lennard, taking over kicking duties just seconds from the break, missed the opportunity to give his side a half-time lead with a long range effort from the left touchline.

Irish began the second half with intent and caught the hosts napping when they powered forward from the kick-off as Lamb chipped the Wasps defence.

Daniel Bowden collected the loose ball and ran in under the posts for the try amid a clamour of protests from the crowd following Clarke Dermody's blatant knock-on in the build-up.

Referee Lawrence, however, missed the infringement and allowed the try to stand. Lamb converted to make it 18-13 and give Irish their first lead.

Three minutes later Walder pulled three back with a well-struck penalty to close the gap to two, and on 65 minutes Kefu crossed to put the hosts back in front.

Blistering run

The move was started by Jacobs, who set off on a blistering run before passing to Walder who sent Joe Worsley sprinting for the line.

The England flanker was halted just short but Simpson dug it out and fed Kefu to cross from close range. Walder converted to make it 23-18.

Wasps sealed the win on 74 minutes when turnover ball allowed Jacobs to break clear before firing the ball out to Tom Varndell.

Walder's conversion made it 30-18 leaving Irish with little option but to hunt the losing bonus point.

And their efforts almost paid off with Ion's try and Lamb's subsequent conversion - only for Walder's penalty at the death to ensure the Exiles left Adams Park empty handed.