Wasps sting Quins hard
It was a convincing victory, which revived their hopes of qualifying from Pool One and sets up a cracking match Wasps and La Rochelle in December.
Harlequins' hopes of qualifying look extremely slender, but Wasps – in second place in the pool – now head into a crucial double-header with a very strong looking La Rochelle.
Nathan Hughes was outstanding throughout for the hosts, and while Quins had plenty of possession, some determined work in defence and at the breakdown by Wasps kept their opponents at arm's length.
Hughes' clever work at a line-out presented Dan Robson with a simple chance to nab the first try after two minutes, then Christian Wade crossed the line after Marcus Smith's attempted cross-kick was charged down and Elliot Daly had hacked on.
Ashley Johnson was driven over for a third try by the Wasps forwards, and despite defending for a lot of the half, Wasps were 21-3 up at the break.
Harlequins' spirits flagged further when Joe Marler was sin-binned for a forearm smash on Will Rowlands, and he watched from the sidelines as Jimmy Gopperth added a 35-metre penalty.
Francis Saili did get Quins' first try of the game, but Gopperth put them out of sight with a further penalty, before a Josh Bassett try sealed the bonus point, and a 70 metre run after an interception by Christian Wade added some gloss to the scoreline.
Wasps have now lost just three of their last 32 European Cup home games.
The scorers:
For Wasps:
Tries: Robson, Wade, Johnson, Bassett, Wade
Cons: Gopperth 4, Miller
Pens: Gopperth 2
For Harlequins:
Try: Saili
Con: Smith
Pen: Smith
Yellow cards: Mike Brown (Harlequins, 31), Joe Marler (Harlequins, 49)
Teams:
Wasps: 15 Willie Le Roux, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Thomas Young, 6 James Haskell, 5 Will Rowlands, 4 Joe Launchbury (captain), 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Ashley Johnson, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Antonio Thomas Harris, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Marty Moore, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Jack Willis, 21 Guy Thompson, 22 Joe Simpson, 23 Rob Miller.
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Mat Luamanu, 7 Dave Ward, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 James Horwill (captain), 4 Charlie Matthews, 3 Will Collier, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Elia Elia, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 George Merrick, 20 Ben Glynn, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Francis Saili.
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Laurent Cardona (France), Mathieu Noirot (France)
TMO: Eric Briquet Campin (France)
Source: @ChampionsCup
