All the pre-season hype centred on Danny Cipriani but it was his halfback partner Joe Simpson who was the star of London Wasps' win away at Bath yesterday. The home side could not handle the 21-year-old, whose speed and purpose around the forward fringes drove Wasps to 17-15 victory at the Recreation Ground. But it ended up being a close-run thing for the Londoners.
They had England prop Tim Payne sent off late in the action after he collected two yellow cards for scrum offences, and Bath No 8 Ben Skirving's try - in the 20th minute of second-half injury time - meant the home side almost escaped. But fly-half Ryan Davis sent the touchline conversion attempt wide and Wasps could start celebrating. Wings Tom Varndell and David Lemi both capitalised on Simpson's adventure. A first-half Varndell double made it four tries in two games for the former Leicester speedster.
Lemi's touchdown on the stroke of half-time gave Wasps a lead they never lost, taking the points despite fly-half Cipriani slotting a solitary successful strike from five shots at goal. Saracens marked their Wembley debut with an enthralling 19-16 win over Northampton Saints in front of a crowd of 44,832. For the second week in a row Sarries won the hard way after another gruelling battle.
Noah Cato's breakaway try at the start of the second half appeared to put them on their way to victory with a 16-3 lead. But Brendan Venter's side know how to make their supporters sweat and a stream of penalties and a try from Jon Clarke took the Saints to within three points. Sarries were also reduced to 14 men when Schalk Brits was given a yellow card and hearts were in mouths when Soane Tonga'uiha appeared to score in the 78th minute but it was ruled out for a knock on and Saracens secured another great escape.
The "Bloodgate" scandal may officially be over for Harlequins but that did not stop Leicester from putting the boot in as fly-half Jeremy Staunton kicked the Tigers to victory. Staunton struck five penalties to three from Nick Evans as the champions rebounded from their unexpected defeat to Sale Sharks on the opening day of the new season. Harlequins' efforts at rebuilding their reputation on the field have now started with two defeats and, judging by the attendance at the Twickenham Stoop, they still have a long way to travel. The Rugby Football Union's disciplinary chief Judge Jeff Blackett finally drew a line under the Bloodgate saga last night when he decided against laying further charges, largely because he felt the game had suffered enough.
Quins chief executive Mark Evans wrote a message of apology in the match programme and vowed the club would redouble their efforts to mend a "battered reputation". Worcester coach Mike Ruddock reflected on "a reasonable start" to his team's campaign after Leeds were brushed aside at Sixways on Friday night. Warriors' 27-7 victory took them top of the table. Fly-half Willie Walker kicked 17 points and centre Alex Grove and wing Marcel Garvey scored tries.
"We've had a reasonable start to the season," said Ruddock. "We could have won at Northampton last weekend, and we've won tonight without hitting full throttle. London Irish coach Toby Booth expects his team to show a sharper cutting edge when they tackle Gloucester today. "While it was encouraging to see us create chances against Saracens, we failed to take them," he said. "We've worked hard on our finishing in training this week, and I expect us to be more clinical."
* With agencies
