Guinness Premiership

New signing Tom Varndell scored twice for London Wasps after Harlequins lock forward George Robson was sent off, just three minutes into the game, and set up a 26-15 win for the Tony Hanks's side on Saturday afternoon at Twickenham.

Looking to put a miserable summer behind them, Harlequins could not have suffered a more disappointing start to their new season. With just three minutes on the clock, Robson was red carded for reportedly head butting Wasps scrumhalf Joe Simpson.

His moment of madness, so early in the game, no doubt had a huge affect on the game. Handing a one man advantage to Wasps, the remaining 14 Harlequins players worked tirelessly but were ultimately overpowered by a strong 'home' side.

Amazingly it was in fact Harlquins who started the scoring. British and Irish Lions flyer Ugo Monye, starting at fullback in the absence of Mike Brown, scored after 13 minutes. A quick tap from Danny Care created the chance before David Strettle fed Monye to score in the corner.

It didn't take long for Wasps to bounce back though. England flyhalf Danny Cipriani the provider this time, creating space for Varndell to finish well.

It was then the turn of another new signing, Quins wing Gonzalo Camacho to put his name on the score sheet. Nick Evans added the two points and, after 21 minutes, Quins led 12-5.

Wasps fullback Mark van Gisbergen added to minutes during the course of the next 10 minutes before, with just two minutes left in the half, Varndell grabbed his second.

Evans too had added another penalty to his personal tally by this point, meaning the half time whistle sounded with the scores stuck at 16-15 in favour of Wasps.

A tense first 20 minutes in the second half saw neither side add to their tally. It was only after the hour mark that van Gisbergen had another successful penalty, pushing his side four points clear with time starting to go against the 14 men Harlequins.

Will Skinner and his men, to their credit, never once looked like they were giving up the chance. Evans in fact had a couple of chances to put his team in front but his kicking radar was off target.

Having stood strong with just seven forwards for much of the match the pressure entually told for Harlequins. Deemed to have collapsed a Wasps maul, Quins conceded a penalty try and, as a result, the match.

One can only wonder how the game would have turned out had both sides had their full compliment of players. A great start for Hanks and his Wasps, a heartbreaking defeat for Will Skinner and his underfire Quins.

The Scorers:

For London Wasps:

Tries: Varndell 2, Penalty
Pen: van Gisbergen 3
Cons: van Gisbergen

For Harlequins:

Tries: Monye, Camacho
Pen: Evans
Cons: Evans

Red Cards: George Robson (Harlequins - 3 min)

Yellow Cards: Jordan Turner-Hall (Harlequins - 77 min)

The Teams:

London 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 John Hart, 5 Richard Birkett, 4 George Skivington, 3 Gabriel Bocca, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Tim Payne
Replacements: 16 Joe Ward, 17 Ben Broster, 18 Tom French, 19 Dan Leo, 20 Hugo Ellis, 21 Warren Fury, 22 Dave Walder, 23 Lachlan Mitchell

Harlequins: 15 Ugo Monye, 14 David Strettle, 13 Gonzalo, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Gonzalo Camacho, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Will Skinner (captain), 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 George Robson, 4 James Percival, 3 Mark Lambert, 2 Gary Botha, 1 Ceri Jones
Replacements: 16 Tani Fuga, 17 Aston Croall, 18 John Andress, 19 Jim Evans, 20 Tom Guest, 21 Steve So'oialo, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 George Lowe

Referee: Dean Richards
Assistant referees: Roger Baileff, Ken Stewart