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Rugby Union

Wasps continue Leeds misery

05/01/2008

London Wasps extended their run of good form with a 25-17 win over Guinness Premiership bottom side Leeds Carnegie at Adams Park.

The visitors rallied strongly in the second-half with 14 unanswered points reducing the gap, but never seriously threatening to overhaul the Heineken Cup winners.

A strong first-half performance left the home side with a comfortable cushion on which to see out the remainder of the match.

After fly-half Danny Cipriani had landed a pair of penalties to put his side 6-0 up flanker Joe Worsley marked his return to the team by crashing over for the first try on 21 minutes.

The England back-row star has been absent since suffering a hamstring tear in his country's World Cup campaign but was quickly back into the swing of things as he cantered in following Eoin Reddan's break.

Centre Fraser Waters crossed two minutes from the break before Leigh Hinton made the first impression on the scoresheet for Leeds to make it 18-3 at the interval.

A deft inside pop from Reddan seven minutes after the restart sent Josh Lewsey in under the posts and effectively secured Wasps the win as they moved into a 25-3 advantage.

However a spirited last 20 minutes from Leeds saw Mike McDonald and Joe Bedford run in converted tries as Wasps' defensive concentration slipped.

The home side gathered themselves and kept Leeds at bay for the last few minutes to ensure that they continue their climb up the table.