Warriors had led for all but the last eight minutes of the match when Wasps wing Tom Varndell crossed for his second to sneak the lead.

But replacement stand-off Dan Parks restored the advantage for the home side, and claimed the victory, from a penalty in front of the posts two minutes from time.

Warriors head coach Sean Lineen said: “We saw some really good performances from the players that started.

“We’ve worked hard on our contact and worked hard on our defence. We know clearly why Wasps scored those two tries and those things can be fixed.

“Our defence for long periods of the game was outstanding. I thought the scrum performed well and young Jon Welsh was brilliant. That’s what we want, real competition.

“I thought Peter Murchie did well. He was only meant to play for 60 minutes but he wanted to stay on for the whole game so that shows the ambition of these guys.

“The players worked really hard and that was a good workout for us. There are some sore bodies out there. That was a tough game before Munster.”