Guinness Premiership

A resurgent Tom Varndell scored two tries for the London Wasps on Saturday afternoon at the Recreation Ground help his side to a big victory; making it two wins in a row to start the new season for Tony Hanks' men.

Bath, after a disappointing first round defeat last weekend, got off to the perfect start with captain and scrumhalf Michael Claassens scoring after just three minutes. Having failed to slot a single kick last weekend, the signs were good for Bath as Ryan Davis added the extra two points.

Unfortunately for Steve Meehan though the early points would not prove to be the beginnings of a great afternoon for Bath as they ultimately went down 17-15.

With 18 minutes of the game gone, with flyhalf Danny Cipriani having already missed two penalties, the Wasps finally responded. Varndell, a summer signing from Leicester, scored to make the score 7-5.

Davis edged Bath further ahead with 24 minutes gone but Varndell was soon at it again. As the half hour approached the England wing went over for his second, levelling the scores but handing the momentum to the visitors.

Another new arrival at Adams Park this summer,David Lemi, was the next to score. On the stroke of half time the Samoan snuck his way over, giving his team a deserved lead at the whistle.

A tight second half saw only one scoring moment, and that a last minute try by Bath.

The visitors survived a tricky patch midway through the half with prop forward Tim Payne in the sin bin.

Payne though wasn't done with his trouble for the afternoon though - having returned to the pitch, with time just about up on the clock, Payne received his second yellow card from Chris White.

The drama continued as Ben Skirving went over for a try - handing Davis the chance to level the scores right at the death.

As it was last weekend though, the boot of the youngster could not do the job. A dramatic finish but the right result as far as Wasps were concerned.

Full report to follow...

The Scorers

For Bath:

Tries: Claassens, Skirving
Cons: Davis

For Wasps:

Tries: Varndell 2, Lemi
Cons: Cipriani

Yellow Cards: Tim Payne (London Wasps - 60 min)
Dismissed: Tim Payne (London Wasps - 80 min)

The Teams:

Wasps: 15 Mark Van Gisbergen, 14 Tom Varndell, 13 Ben Jacobs, 12 Steve Kefu, 11 David Lemi, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Dan Ward-Smith, 7 Serge Betsen (captain), 6 Joe Worsley, 5 Richard Birkett, 4 George Skivington, 3 Ben Broster, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Tim Payne
Replacements: 16 Joe Ward, 17 Charlie Beech, 18 Bob Baker, 19 Dan Leo, 20 John Hart, 21 Warren Fury, 22 Dave Walder, 23 Lachlan Mitchell

Bath: 15 Joe Maddock, 14 Matt Carraro, 13 Tom Cheeseman, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 Ryan Davis, 9 Michael Claassens (captain), 8 Ben Skirving, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Andy Beattie, 5 Danny Grewcock, 4 Stuart Hooper, 3 Duncan Bell, 2 Lee Mears, 1 David Flatman
Replacement: 16 Pieter Dixon, 17 David Barnes, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Peter Short, 20 Jonny Faamatuainu, 21 Scott Bemand, 22 Nicky Little, 23 Jack Cuthbert

Referee: Chris White (162nd Premiership game)