Jackson kicked off and, depending on your perspective, Wasps came out firing on all cylinders, or Saracens were making a sloppy start. However you look at it; Saracens gave away several penalties, two of which Dave Walder slotted through the posts to give Wasps a 6-0 lead.

Wasps continued to attack and on the twenty minute mark, they looked as if they were to score the first try of the match. Wasps had a four man overlap, to Sarries one, and looked at dead-cert to score in the corner. However Wasps hadn't counted on Saracens one-man being Dave Seymour who made a try-saving tackle to bring down man-and-ball and allow time for Sarries to mount a defensive force.

Now this all puts me in a bit of a quandary; my small soft spot for Mr Seymour has been well documented on this site and I would hate to appear biased, but honestly the guy was awesome. This was verified by a quick straw poll around me in the Valley Stand and a flick through Monday’s broadsheets. He was constantly ferreting at the breakdown, won numerous turn-over ball and made England's current incumbent open-side look ordinary in comparison.

But back to the game; Vyvs (who also had a spectacular match) came in to offer support and illustrate what strength and depth Saracens have in the back row. The ball was cleared by Glenda and the pockets of Sarries fans on the terrace allowed themselves a sigh of relief.

Ten minutes of scrappy play ensued, which included a line-out from Saracens that went way over the heads of all the jumpers, and straight into Wasps hands (when are we going to learn to stop doing that), However the loose play suited MTC who made a fantastic break for the Wasps line. The resulting defensive play saw Wasps penalized in front of the posts, giving Jackson his first chance to kick for goal, which sailed over to see the scores 6-3. Ten minutes later Wasps were again penalized, and again Glenda made the kick count, 6 all.

The next period of play saw handling errors from both sides, with knock-ons a-plenty. Fortunately for Sarries one of these was when Wasps were making another attack, which resulted in a Sarries scrum between our 22 and 10 meter lines. From the scrum Glenda spotted space behind Wasps defence and landed a beautifully weighted kick to Ratavou. He stormed down the wing, of-loaded to MTC who touched down for the first try of the afternoon. Jackson added the conversion to see Saracens 6-13 up at half-time.

Saracens started the second half positively and earned a number of penalties from Wasps as the game took a more physical turn. Jackson slotted one through the posts to see the Men in Black secure a ten point lead. Saracens continued to dominate, as Seymour turned over Walder, some brilliant interplay by our backs fed ball to Cencus, who powered his way though Wasps defence for the second try of the afternoon. Unfortunately Jackson’s conversion went wide. However Sarries were 6-21 and looked in control of the game.

Wasps hadn't given up and mounted am intense attack on the Sarries line. Their continued possession and pressure finally paid off as Cipriani found his way through the visitors to touch down in the corner for Wasps first try of the afternoon. Walder kicked the tricky conversion from the touch line and at 11-21 the home side were back in the game.

Wasps then started the substitutions, bringing on Hart for Dallaglio, worryingly; Wasps seem to look a better side when their former England great is not on the pitch. Sarries mounted another attack from a scum on our 10 meter line, which again saw some lovely play through our backs; Penny was on the receiving end of some great ball and stormed over the white line, 11-26. Unfortunately Jackson again put the kick wide. This seemed inconsequential at the time as Saracens were in control of the game, but how we were to rue the four missed points from his boot by the end of the afternoon. Also worrying was the sight of Ratavou (replaced by De Vedia) leaving the pitch, limping.

Wasps continued to attack from the restart and benefited from fresh legs. It was difficult to see exactly what was happening from the far end of the stadium, but Reddan (Wasps man of the match) crossed the line for the home sides second try of the afternoon. Van Gisbergen (on for Walder) added the two and Wasps were back to 20-26.

Then came the familiar rash of Sarries substitutions, with Gustard, Ryder and Yates coming off the bench. This tactic of making so many substitutions so near to time has been questioned before. Some of the subs were necessary as Cencus looked in pain, but overall it had the effect of unsettling the team. Unfortunately for these last ten minutes Saracens just seemed to take their foot of the gas. Wasps continued full steam ahead to earn their third try as Redden crossed the line for the second time that afternoon (although there were questions about a foot in touch). Van Gisbergen never looked like he was going to miss the kick and Wasps were in the lead 27-26. With just a minute left on the clock Glen tried a messy attempt at a drop goal, but it was not to be.

Ultimately Wasps deserved the win, solely because they kept playing until the final whistle whereas we went AWOL for the final ten minutes. But to come so near at Adams Park was heartbreaking for the visiting support.

There were plenty for positives to take from the match. Sarries looked a much better team than the one that beat Glasgow the week before. Faz and MTC both had fantastic games and the back-row gave Gaffney the kind of selection headache a coach must enjoy. However it was difficult to come away from Wycombe with anything other than disappointment at what might have been, and the slim consolation that although we may have lost the battle, currently at least, we are still winning the war.

Scorers: London Wasps: Tries: Cipriani (56min), Reddan 2 (68, 78). Conversions: Walder, Van Gisbergen 2. Penalty goals: Walder 2 (13, 16). Saracens: Tries: Castaignède (40), Johnston (51), Penney (60). Conversion: Jackson. Penalty goals: Jackson 3 (26, 34, 48).

Scoring sequence (London Wasps first): 3-0, 6-0, 6-3, 6-6, 6-13 (half-time), 6-16, 6-21, 13-21, 13-26, 20-26, 27-26.

London Wasps: D Cipriani; J Lewsey (rep: A Erinle, 57), F Waters, D Waldouck, T Voyce; D Walder, E Reddan; P Vickery, J Ward, P Bracken (rep: N Adams, 71), S Shaw, T Palmer (rep: R Birkett, 74), J Haskell, T Rees (rep: J Hart, 32-37), L Dallaglio (rep: Hart, 58).

Saracens: T Castaignède; D Scarbrough, R Penney, A Farrell, K Ratuvou (rep: T de Vedia, 60); G Jackson, N de Kock; N Lloyd, S Byrne (rep: M Cairns, 64), C Johnston (rep: K Yates, 71), I Fullarton (rep: T Ryder, 71), S Raiwalui, H Vyvyan, D Seymour (rep: P Gustard, 69), B Skirving.

Referee: S Davey.

Attendance: 9,153.

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