HEINEKEN CUP POOL 6 Wasps 28 Tries: Lewsey 2, Abbott Cons: King 2 Pens: King 3 Perpignan 7 Try: Edmonds Con: Labat

Wasps celebrated the return of their England World Cup contingent by confirming their status as one of the Heineken Cup favourites.

The Zurich Premiership champions laid down a powerful marker with a commanding victory over last season's European runners-up.

England full-back Josh Lewsey, playing on the wing, grabbed a brace of tries with centre Stuart Abbott also on the scoresheet.

Fly-half Alex King added 13 points with the boot, although Wasps missed out on a bonus point when they failed to add a fourth try in the final quarter.

Coach Warren Gatland's triple substitution on the hour disrupted his side's rhythm, but it was still a comprehensive win.

England's returning heroes enjoyed mixed fortunes on their return to club colours.

Lewsey and Abbott both profited from Rob Howley's enduring excellence for their first-half tries.

But flanker Joe Worsley was forced off after 22 minutes with a thumb injury, while Simon Shaw required repeated treatment for a knee problem before being taken off.

There is a bit of frustration at missing the bonus but we can be pretty proud of our performance Lawrence Dallaglio

Alongside a commanding Lawrence Dallaglio in the back row, Irish flanker Johnny O'Connor impressed with his commitment and skill.

Wasps were 6-0 to the good after six minutes courtesy of King's opening two penalties.

They might have scored when hooker Trevor Leota lost the ball in the act of stretching to the line in the 12th minute.

But moments later the Wasps pack set the platform for Howley, and the Welshman's darting break and pass released Lewsey for a poacher's try, converted by King.

Lewsey was also in the wars, spending 15 minutes getting a head cut head sewn up.

But his absence was barely noticed as Wasps continued to negate Perpignan's powerful pack with ruthless efficiency.

Their ball retention and discipline was of such quality they did not concede a single penalty or free-kick until first-half injury time.

The England boys coming back gave us a huge boost Rob Howley

By then they were already 20-0 up, after Howley again bamboozled the visitors' defence to put Abbott through the gap.

King added the extras and his third penalty with the last kick of the half gave Wasps a commanding 23-0 interval lead.

Perpignan's Australian stand-off Manny Edmonds instigated a partial comeback by the French side on the resumption.

But not before Wasps had sealed victory with a sparkling third try straight out of the coaching manual before the hour.

King's cut-out pass missed out his decoy runners, and wing Tom Voyce and full-back Mark van Gisbergen combined to send Lewsey in at the right corner.

Perpignan did belatedly show why they reached last year's final, Edmonds rewarding a dominant final quarter by twisting over with 10 minutes left.

Wasps: Van Gisbergen; Lewsey, Waters, Abbott, Voyce; King, Howley; Dowd, Leota, Green, Shaw, Birkett, Worsley, O'Connor, Dallaglio (capt).
Replacements: Gotting, Payne, Volley, Purdy, Richards, Denney, Rudd

Perpignan: Cermeno; Bomati, Marty, Manas, Luger; Edmonds, Fillol; Freshwater, Koniekiewicz, Tournaire, Gaston, Porcu, Le Corvec, Goutta, Alvarez Kairelis.
Replacements: Grelon, Mas, Debaty, Mallier, Labat, Loustau, Laharrague.