Leicester take sting out of Wasps tale

European Cup, Pool One/Leicester - 35 Wasps - 27: Last season it was Wasps who carried all before them at home and abroad but, after two weekends of momentous rugby, England's undisputed top dogs this Christmas are Leicester. Never has the European Cup known a domestic argument of this calibre and yesterday's shuddering action replay means the defending European champions must now rely on the generosity of others in the New Year.

It is almost cruel, after two extraordinary games containing 130 points and 10 high-quality tries, that one of these clubs will not be around for the knockout stages but that is the smoking barrel down which Wasps are staring. Even an away win in Biarritz, with a bonus point, may still not be enough to prevent all European avenues being abruptly closed to them by mid-January.

Leicester, too, could yet stumble if they lose at home to the talented French side which, if it happens, would be a classic case of winning the battle but losing the war. They scored three more rousing first-half tries here and, at the final whistle, the only regret was these sides will not be meeting once again this weekend.

As at High Wycombe the previous week it was Leicester's fast start that ultimately made the difference, their first quarter ferocity in both games reaching heights not seen since the club won their first European crown in Paris in 2001. They were 19-0 up after 20 minutes and Wasps' assistant coach Shaun Edwards had it spot-on afterwards: "We can all take consolation that we've taken part in two epic games of rugby. These could go down as two of the best Heineken Cup pool games ever."

Once Leicester get their teeth into opponents they are loath to let go, particularly at home. It is almost 10 years since Wasps last won here and the opening five minutes was a distillation of all their worst fears, Andy Goode landing the first of six penalties before Daryl Gibson found a metre of midfield space to set up Harry Ellis for a thrilling high-stepping 50-metre sprint to the line past three Wasps' pursuers.

Any club side in the world would have found the barrage hard to contain and Wasps' composure duly started to fray as Goode ignored a wailing baby in the crowd to extend the margin. If anyone felt like weeping it was probably Lawrence Dallaglio - "We can't afford to keep giving ourselves a mountain to climb in these games," he sighed afterwards - whose side somehow bounced back to enjoy the better of the second-half.

Warren Gatland, the visiting director of rugby, pronounced himself happy that his scrum had stabilised after a rough ride the previous weekend but accepted the killer punches were landed inside four minutes just before half-time, starting when a quickly-taken tap penalty allowed Austin Healey to scoot 50 metres up the right and provide the momentum for George Chuter to stretch over and score to the satisfaction of the video referee.

From the restart there was worse to come. Wasps had established a promising position of their own, only for the ball to spill loose and permit Leicester to launch yet another rapid counter-attack through Geordan Murphy. Once again Ellis was thrillingly involved and the scrumhalf's cleverly-timed pass allowed Leon Lloyd enough space to beat the desperate Wasps' cover.

It was a nightmare for the visitors who had already done magnificently to fight back to 19-13 thanks to two penalties from Mark van Gisbergen and a converted try by Tom Voyce after Gibson's attempted clearance was charged down and fell kindly for Stuart Abbott. Suddenly it seemed anything was possible and another potential see-sawing classic loomed out of the dank midlands gloom.

On this occasion, though, the effort involved in staying in the game in the first half proved too great. Joe Worsley did round off a multi-phase move to plunge over and reduce the margin to nine points but Goode's fifth penalty from five metres inside his own half was another icy lunge to the heart.

Goode is one of those players who can look ordinary one minute and brilliant the next - during his brief spell at Saracens they nicknamed him "Andy Average" - but on his day he is a mighty effective marksman. His sixth penalty extended Leicester's lead again although Will Green's 69th-minute score did reduce Martin Johnson's post-match satisfaction. "We were a little bit upset with ourselves," pronounced the former England captain. "When we had a lead we lost our intensity." With standards so sky-high, no wonder Leicester are such consistent winners.

LEICESTER: Murphy; Lloyd, Smith, Gibson, Healey; Goode, Ellis (Bemand 75); Rowntree, Chuter, White, M Johnson (capt), Kay, Moody, Back, Corry.

WASPS: Van Gisbergen; Lewsey, Erinle (Hoadley 62), Abbott, Voyce; King (Brooks 74), Dawson (Biljon 66); Dowd, Gotting, Green, Shaw, Birkett, Worsley, O'Connor, Dallaglio (capt).

Referee: A Rolland (Ireland).