Premiership: Gloucester 13-10 Wasps

Greig Laidlaw kicked eight points for Gloucester as they overcame Wasps at Kingsholm.

Gloucester ended a three-and-a-half-year wait for victory over Wasps with a narrow 13-10 Premiership win.

The home side took a 10-point lead through Greig Laidlaw's early penalty and Richard Hibbard's converted score.

Jimmy Gopperth's penalty reduced the deficit before Christian Wade's solo effort levelled the scores.

Home skipper Laidlaw kicked his side back in front and Gloucester held out as Wasps fell to only their second away defeat of the season.

Wasps had won their last six meetings with Gloucester since the Cherry and Whites earned a 29-22 victory at Kingsholm in September 2012.

The visitors had also won their last six Premiership matches, but play-off hopefuls Gloucester boosted their chances of finishing in the top six despite two missed kicks from captain Laidlaw.

The Gloucester and Scotland scrum-half slotted his first penalty before popping the ball off to hooker Hibbard who crashed over from six metres as his side took a 10-point lead.

But Wasps caught the Cherry and Whites off guard following the half-time break as Christian Wade accelerated into space and Gopperth's conversion levelled.

Gloucester regained the lead on 55 minutes through the boot of Laidlaw and had just enough to hold on for victory despite a late drop-goal attempt from Gopperth.

The win moves Gloucester up to sixth and on to 38 points, level with Sale and Harlequins, while Wasps stay third, six points behind second-placed Exeter.

Gloucester director of rugby David Humphreys:

"I am incredibly proud of the effort by the whole squad. We know how good Wasps are, and I thought it was a great game to watch. Both teams came with an aspiration to play rugby.

"I thought in the first half, our whole game was good, and in the second half we showed real character and commitment to defend. We defended incredibly well.

"To win a game against a team like Wasps, it is a case of numbers one to 23 playing well. I believe they are probably the most complete team in the Premiership at the minute in terms of their style of play. For us, it was a hugely significant win."

Wasps director of rugby Dai Young:

"We knew it was going to be tough and a battle. I strongly believe that any team in this league can beat each other.

"When we play like we can, it takes a very good team to beat us, but if we don't quite hit our straps, then we are still going to lose games. We are not the finished article.

"Today, I thought we just lacked a little bit of spring in our step. We didn't quite have the intensity that we've had the last two to three weeks.

"I thought Gloucester came out on top in the tackle area, which stopped us getting quick ball and that really stopped us getting any intensity in our game. It was a disappointing performance, but not a disaster."

Gloucester: Cook; Sharples, Meakes, Twelvetrees, Purdy; Hook, Laidlaw (capt); McAllister, Hibbard, Afoa, Savage, Thrush, Kalamafoni, Kvesic, Moriarty.

Replacements: Dawidiuk, Thomas, Doran-Jones, Galarza, Ludlow, Braley, Burns, Trinder.

Wasps: Miller; Wade, C Piutau, S Piutau, Halai; Gopperth, Robson; Mullan (capt), Shervington, Cooper-Woolley, Cannon, Myall, Jones, Smith, Hughes.

Replacements: Johnson, McIntyre, Cittadini, Davies, Rieder, Stevenson, Jackson, Macken.

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