Abu Dhabi is no place like home for Wasps

Harlequins eased to a comfortable 38-13 LV= Cup victory over their local rivals Wasps in yesterday's historic encounter in Abu Dhabi.

This was the first domestic fixture to be staged overseas and was played in perfect conditions in the luxurious grounds of the Emirates Palace Hotel.

Designated home side Wasps quickly found themselves on the back foot under the floodlights of the temporary 5,000-seat stadium. Karl Dickson crossed twice for the victors, with further tries by George Lowe, Ceri Jones and Sam Smith ensuring a bonus-point win. Tom Varndell and Joe Launchbury weighed in with the tries for Wasps.

The win sees Quins climb to the summit of Pool Four, ahead of Exeter and Bath, while Wasps stay second in Pool One with one round of games left.

Quins, unbeaten in eight matches before yesterday's match, welcomed prop Jones back from injury but were without internationals Danny Care and Nick Easter on England duty. Wasps handed debuts to fly-half Mark Atkinson and back-rowers Billy Vunipola and Sam Jones. Varndell, Richard Haughton and Dominic Waldouck were also included in the absence of England stars Joe Simpson, Simon Shaw, Joe Worsley, Riki Flutey and Tim Payne.

Wasps eased into an early 3-0 lead inside two minutes, Atkinson registering his first points for the club with an accurate penalty kick.

Quins then had to regroup from the early loss of Mark Lambert to injury and after seven minutes hit the front. Scrum-half Dickson showed nimble footwork to cut inside and cross for a try which Nick Evans converted. Quins extended their advantage after 19 minutes, working the ball well from left to right from a scrum and creating the space for Lowe to cross. Evans added the extras to move Quins 14-3 ahead, but Wasps hit back straight from the restart as Varndell bundled over for an unconverted try in the corner.

Evans added a penalty for Quins as the lead stretched to 17-8 by the half-hour mark. And the gulf increased two minutes before the interval, Quins winning a lineout close to the Wasps line and Jones bulldozing over for a score which Evans converted for a 24-8 half-time lead. A fourth try and Dickson's second arrived six minutes after the restart to secure a bonus point.

Launchbury restored some pride for Wasps as he touched down inside the final ten minutes, but it was Quins who fittingly completed the scoring, Smith chasing Tom Williams' long kick down field to cross for a fifth try.