Ulster stung again

Wasps secured their place in the quarter-finals and maintained their 100 per cent winning record with another comprehensive victory…

Wasps secured their place in the quarter-finals and maintained their 100 per cent winning record with another comprehensive victory over reigning champions Ulster.

That famous victory over Colomiers at Lansdowne Road seems a long way away as the champions have now collapsed to five successive group defeats.

Ulster soon buckled under the weight of the hosts' pressure and after just 11 minutes, Lawrence Dallaglio claimed a line-out ball just yards from the visitors' try-line and Alex King's neat switch pass allowed Kenny Logan to waltz in unopposed.

Logan neatly converted his own try but failure with two simple penalties could have cost Wasps dear as Ulster occasionally showed glimpses of form.

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Simon Mason's ever-reliable boot closed the hosts' advantage whilst Jonathan Bell's 50-yard break, followed by Riaz Frederick's neat pass allowed captain David Humphreys to capture the lead against the run of play.

But that was as good as it got for Ulster. Tries from Andy Reed, Rob Henderson, King and Logan again, saw Wasps well out of sight before Mason grabbed a consolation score. Even then, however, there was still time for Bryan Shelbourne and Lawrence Scrase to cross the Ulster line.

WASPS: Ufton; Roiser, Waters (Henderson, h-t), Denney, Logan; King (Scrase, 68 min), Shelbourne; Molloy (Le Chevalier, 73), Leota (Macer, 70), Green, Reed, Weedon, Dallaglio (capt; Volley, 70), Worsley, Scrivener.

ULSTER: S Mason; J Topping, R Fredericks, J Bell, T Howe; J Humphreys (capt), S Bell; J Fitzpatrick, R Weir, J Veitayaki, P Johns, M Blair (G Longwell, 72), D O'Cuinneagain, A Ward, E Miller.

Referee: C Thomas (Neath).