Wasps back to winning ways

Wasps returned to winning ways on Sunday with a 17-8 Aviva Premiership win at Leeds Carnegie.

A poor first half at Headingley was enlivened by a superb try from scrum-half Joe Simpson five minutes before the break to help the visitors into a slender 7-3 lead.

Flanker Tom Rees burrowed his way over for Wasps' second shortly after the restart and although Leeds pulled one back through Luther Burrell, they could not prevent a seventh successive league loss.

For Wasps, the victory came as a much-needed fillip following their 37-10 home defeat to Northampton last weekend.

However, for Leeds, the defeat spelt more misery for a club who are marooned at bottom of the table and who also failed to pick up a losing bonus point.

Few chances

The hosts created few chances to speak of against a Wasps side missing the likes of Simon Shaw, Dave Walder, Ben Jacobs, Rikki Flutey and Richard Haughton.

Leeds were themselves without England duo Steve Thompson and Hendre Fourie and they looked to begin strongly, but the first scoring chance went Wasps' way.

It came in the ninth minute, although stand-in fly-half Mark Van Gisbergen sent his penalty attempt wide of the posts.

Leeds tried to impose themselves but they struggled to fashion genuine chances by more subtle means and instead looked to their forward power through the middle.

Midway through the half, Wasps forward Joe Worsley sustained a nose injury in a collision and Serge Betsen entered the fray as a blood replacement.

Leeds fly-half Ceiron Thomas, himself deputising at full-back, then missed a penalty as both sides struggled with their kicks and in open play.

Leeds fashioned an opening down the left flank shortly after the half-hour mark but Wasps stood firm to deny them a way through.

The home side could not make such pressure count and fell to the sucker punch in the 35th minute when Simpson took the ball from behind a scrum and raced from inside his own half to cross.

Van Gisbergen converted before Thomas put Leeds on the scoreboard with a penalty on the stroke of half-time.

Wasps' second try came six minutes after the restart when Simpson's short offload found Rees and he went over from close range.

Breathing space

Van Gisbergen again added the two points but then missed a penalty that would have given his side further breathing space.

Leeds then handed themselves a lifeline shortly before the hour mark when Scott Mathie and Henry Fa'afili combined to put Burrell clear.

Thomas missed the conversion, however - the ball rebounding off a post - with Van Gisbergen's penalty handing Wasps three more points as they held firm in the face of a late Leeds rally.