Wasps: (9) 19
Tries: Ward
Con: Cipriani
Pens: Cipriani 4

Saracens: (16) 29
Tries: Vyvyan, Powel, De Kock
Con: Ross
Pens: Ross 4

Saracens got their Guinness Premiership season off to a winning start as they held off a Wasps fightback at Twickenham on Saturday.

Hugh Vyvyan and Adam Powell crossed for Saracens to give them a 16-9 lead at the end of a feisty first half, with Danny Cipriani kicking Wasps' points.

Neil de Kock went through two tackles to extend Saracens lead, but Cipriani's boot kept Wasps in touching distance.

Joe Ward cut the gap but Saracens ran down the clock to seal the win.

Saracens dominated the first half with their pack gaining the upper hand to drive Vyvyan over on 17 minutes.

Powell powered over in the corner but took exception to a high tackle from Cipriani, sparking off an altercation between both sets of players.

Tempers were still running high when Tom Ryder was sin-binned for hands in the ruck, but Wasps - despite the dynamic running of James Haskell - could not break down the Saracens defence.

De Kock showed great vision to dart round the back of a maul and leave Cipriani and Haskell looking a bit silly as he put his side 23-9 up.

Wasps looked out of it when Fraser Waters was sin-binned, but Saracens' Tom Mercey also went and Ward buried his way over soon after.

The Heineken Cup winners fancied their chances of getting back into the game, but Saracens, marshalled by De Kock, played out the remaining minutes.

"We set out with a game plan and our guys adhered to it. We played with a lot of composure and pace and played the game we wanted to play.

"We haven't set any dream goals - what we are trying to do at the moment is improve on the way we played last year."

"We were listless in the first period and Saracens beat us in most aspects of the game.

"Our kicking was very average, our discipline wasn't good enough. We gave them field opposition and they made us pay for it."

Wasps: Danny Cipriani; David Doherty, Fraser Waters, Dominic Waldouck, Tom Voyce; Riki Flutey, Mark McMillan; Tom French, James Buckland, Pat Barnard, Richard Birkett, Tom Palmer, John Hart (capt), George Skivington, James Haskell.
Replacements: Joe Ward, Tim Payne, Michael Holford, Hugo Ellis, Simon Amor, Mark van Gisbergen, Chris Bishay.