Bath Move Top As Bristol and Wasps Share the Spoils

European champions Wasps' stuttering start to their Guinness Premiership campaign continued after Bristol held them 23-23 in a pulsating contest at the Memorial Stadium. Wasps looked to have breathed life into a poor domestic season when referee Andrew Small awarded them a late penalty try. But Bristol replacement Ed Barnes kept his nerve to kick a match-saving penalty after 83 minutes.

Wasps had earlier been rocked by a three-try blast from Bristol brothers Tom and Luke Arscott. Wing Tom capitalized on two defensive howlers by Wasps full-back Mark Van Gisbergen, who was substituted midway through the second half, then Luke crossed to put Bristol 20-13 clear. Wasps fly-half Danny Cipriani - looking every bit a future England international - kept his team in the contest by booting 13 points, including conversions of an Eoin Reddan touchdown and the penalty try.

Wasps were quickly into their stride despite seeing England World Cup lock Simon Shaw sin-binned for a seventh-minute trip on Bristol scrum-half Brian O'Riordan. Cipriani slotted an early penalty before Paul Sackey and Riki Flutey combined to open up Bristol's defense, allowing the supporting Reddan to scamper clear.

Cipriani converted, and the signs looked ominous for Bristol, but Van Gisbergen's amateurish defending allowed them back into the game. His first blunder - a one-on-one missed tackle just inside the Wasps 22 - allowed Arscott to sprint over, but Van Gisbergen's afternoon further deteriorated just 10 minutes later.

Arscott launched a speculative kick from deep inside his own 22, and all Van Gisbergen had to do was shepherd the ball into touch, yet he was caught napping by the chasing Arscott, who hacked clear and touched down. Jason Strange added a second successful conversion, and although Cipriani edged Wasps back in front when he booted a 29th-minute penalty, Strange restored Bristol's two-point advantage just before the break.

Bristol lost Strange six minutes into the second period when he was late-tackled by Wasps hooker Rob Webber, yet he escaped a card as Strange left the action clutching his ribs. Tom Arscott and England star Josh Lewsey were then involved in a dust-up before Small yellow-carded Shaw's second-row partner Richard Birkett for a swinging arm on Salter. Bristol sensed another score, and their forward pressure resulted in Luke Arscott touching down.

Barnes, on for Strange, missed a simple conversion attempt, and Cipriani brought the visitors back to within four points when he completed his penalty hat-trick. It gave Wasps extra determination to turn the screw, and they gained a 74th-minute penalty try following several scrums within touching distance of Bristol's line. Small's patience with the Bristol front-row finally snapped when they pulled down a scrum, and Cipriani's conversion edged Wasps three points ahead. But Barnes came up trumps when it mattered, landing an equalizing penalty that denied Wasps the win.

Bath moved top of the Guinness Premiership with a comprehensive 41-3 win over struggling Leeds at The Recreation Ground, which included a hat-trick of tries by Matthew Banahan. The winger scored once in the first half, and added two more in the second, as Bath completed the rout with England's Olly Barkley converting all five tries.

Barkley also added a couple of penalties, while Leeds could only manage one penalty in the entire match. Bath's other try scorers were scrum-half Michael Claassens and full-back Nick Abendanon, providing a valuable bonus as they moved clear of Gloucester at the top of the league, while Leeds remain in the bottom two with just five points from their first eight games of the season.

In the afternoon's final Premiership encounter, fifth-placed Harlequins lost to third-placed Saracens by 20-27 at the Stoop.