Harlequins lose local derby

Wasps welcomed a record crowd of more than 12,000 to Loftus Road last night by surging past Bath into second place in the Premiership behind champions Leicester.

An emphatic 38-19 win over local rivals Harlequins - achieved despite Lawrence Dallaglio's second-half sin-binning for a technical offence - put London's top club in line to clinch the second seeding for the play- offs and a strong chance of returning to Twickenham for the Grand Final on May 13.

Wasps' third maximum-points win within the last fortnight was never in doubt once Quins had conceded four tries in the opening half-hour. The first came from Paul Sampson, elevating him above Ben Cohen as the Premiership's leading scorer with ten.

Roared on by their biggest crowd since moving in with Queens Park Rangers five years ago, Wasps added two more tries in the second half, from Scotland wing Kenny Logan and England's forgotten fly half, Alex King.

Quins, resting Jason Leonard and Will Greenwood with half an eye on the European Shield semi-final against Newcastle on April 22, introduced hooker Keith Wood at half-time after Australian lock Gar-rick Morgan had raised the fleeting hope of a recovery with the first of three tries.

Jason Robinson resumed his late charge towards a Lions place last night, repeatedly shredding London Irish as Sale made a late bid to secure a top-eight finish and entry into the Premiership play-offs.

The union convert from Wigan responded to the presence of Lions selectors John O'Driscoll and John Rutherford by starting where he had left off for England against France at Twickenham.