Zurich Premiership: Wasps 17 - 17 Leicester

Honours even, then, in what is being billed as the first in a best-of-three contest featuring back-to-back Heineken Cup matches starting in a fortnight's time between two of England's finest.

Quite rightly the clubs now occupy the top two positions in the Zurich Premiership, with Leicester five points ahead of Wasps, who have overtaken Sale. On yesterday's showing, however, it was difficult to gauge their relative strengths because both were shorn of their internationals. Still, it did proffer a pointer as to what we can expect in Europe: tight, titanic battles.

But as the Wasps director of rugby, Warren Gatland, admitted afterwards: "Neither side was going to show their full hand today." And neither did they in an untidy match played in slippery condition, despite the the presence of some illustrious names.

Of those, Lawrence Dallaglio was the most prominent with another ruggedly effective game - he will have particularly enjoyed two crunching tackles on his old mate Austin Healey - and Matt Dawson the most disappointing with a performance in which niggle seemed more on his mind than fluidity and creativity. Typically Martin Johnson - wearing a blue scrum cap which is very difficult to get accustomed to - raised his game in the last quarter when his side needed it most.

Wasps will be the more disappointed not to have takenall the points, with Edd Thrower only managing four kicks from seven and Mark van Gisbergen also missing the conversion of his own first-half try. Thrower's relatively simple penalty miss on 70 minutes would have put Wasps 20-10 ahead. "The game would have been over then," said Gatland. As it was Leicester rallied after Wasps had stretched their 11-7 half-time lead with two penalties around the hour mark.

Johnson won the lineout from which Healey eventually scored in the left corner after good work from replacement hooker Ephraim Taukafa and perhaps a hint of some holding back from Johnson as a gap opened up. Andy Goode's superb touchline conversion, adding to his earlier penalty, levelled the scores, capping a good performance from the fly-half, who kicked adroitly out of hand throughout. The wing Thrower had given Wasps a 6-0 first-half lead with two penalties, but on 18 minutes one of the Tigers' brightest young talents loudly announced himself with a well-taken try. Last week the 19-year-old Tom Varndell grabbed a hat-trick against Worcester; here, in only his third senior match, he timed his entry into the line from the blindside wing to perfection and ghosted though an invitingly large hole created by Wasps' famed rush defence, with Goode's conversion putting Leicester ahead 7-6.

But Varndell does have some learning to do in defence and after 33 minutes his knock-on from James Brooks' kick behind him offered Wasps an inviting attacking position. They took it with glee, Van Gisbergen sprinting in unhindered to the left-hand corner.

There were other youngsters who impressed, too, namely Wasps' openside flanker Tom Rees, who showed up well against Neil Back, and Leicester's 19-year-old Matt Cornwell, who engaged in an intriguing battle with the in-form Peter Richards. "We are pleased to have taken something out of it," Leicester's head coach John Wells said. "But neither side played to their full ability."

Of that we can be certain. Roll on Europe.

Wasps: Van Gisbergen; Thrower, Richards, Erinle, Voyce; Brooks, Dawson (Biljon, 80); Dowd, Greening (Leota, 63), Green, Shaw, Birkett, Hart (Lock, 78), Rees, Dallaglio (capt).

Try: Van Gisbergen. Pens: Thrower 4. Leicester: Vesty; Varndell, Cornwell, Gibson, Healey; Goode, Bemand; Holford, Buckland (Taukafa, 56), Morris, M Johnson (capt), Deacon, H Tuilagi (Montagu, 61), Back, W Johnson.

Tries: Varndell, Healey. Cons: Goode 2. Pen: Goode.

Referee: A Rowden (Berkshire).

Attendance: 10,000.