Wasps 35pts
Tries: Young 20, 39, 78, Wade 59, Daly 71
Conversions: Gopperth 59, 71
Penalties: Gopperth 16, 35
Saracens 15pts
Tries: Spencer 17, 63
Conversion: Lozowski 17
Penalty: Bosch 32
WASPS rediscovered their clout with a hattrick of tries by inspirational flanker Thomas Young carrying them past a weakened Saracens to a home Premiership semi-final against Leicester.
This full-throttle fivetries- to-two performance also ensured that Wasps finished top of the table at the end of the regular season – with a record try count of 85 – capitalising on the reigning English and European champions resting eight key players before Saturday's European Cup final against Clermont.
The match was delayed 15 minutes so that a bumper crowd of over 30,000 could get into the ground, but when the action started Wasps showed an urgency and attacking venom that they have not mustered since last month's heavy loss to Leinster.
The final scoreline was a little misleading given that Saracens were in contention for all but the last 15 minutes, before late tries by Elliot Daly and Young tipped the balance.
The early exchanges were nip-and-tuck, with Wasps pressure rewarded by Jimmy Gopperth's penalty. The Saracens response was immediate, with Ben Spencer spearing through the middle of an unguarded Wasps ruck to score the opening try, which Alex Lozowski converted to make it 7-3.
The pendulum swung back Wasps way when Daly's burst into the 22 saw Danny Cipriani slide an angled grubber to Young, which he took on the bounce to open his tally and make it 8-7 to the home side.
Wasps front row was hit by injuries to Tommy Taylor (ankle) and Jake Cooper-Wooley (foot) – although the arrival of the powerful Ashley Johnson was a bonus.
Saracens retook the lead at 10-8 with a superb Marcelo Bosch penalty from half-way, before a Gopperth reply put Wasps ahead 11-8 six minutes before the break after Sean Maitland was sin-binned for a deliberate body-check on Christian Wade.
Wasps made Maitland count the cost when Saracens were left short in defence when a Willie Le Roux miss-pass put Young in at the corner again for Wasps to lead 16-10 at the interval.
The second-half saw no further scoring until just before the hour – although Wasps came closest when a blistering break-out by Le Roux and Daly was foiled at the last by Spencer.
Wasps kept the heat on, and their persistence was rewarded with a lucky try when Kurtley Beale's grubber for Le Roux ricocheted off the legs of Wyles and Spencer to give Wade a gift touch-down.
With Gopperth converting Wasps led 23-10, and although Saracens narrowed the gap to 23-15 when Spencer dummied and dived over to score his second try, the home side were making most of the running.
And when Daly picked off Jamie George out wide before putting on the afterburners with nine minutes remaining, Wasps were in command with Gopperth converting for a 30-15 lead.
When Young, who was back to the blistering form he showed before the Six Nations, nipped round the blindside of a line-out drive to score again, Wasps were home and dry -– with their new local rivals Leicester standing between them and a first Premiership final since 2008.
CLOSE-UP
WILLIE LE ROUX
Wasps wing
SEAN MAITLAND
Saracens wing
This was Le Roux's best game for Wasps, providing a two-pronged counter-attacking threat with Kurtley Beale that unpicked the usually cast-iron Saracens defence. The South African varied his game cleverly, providing the pass for Young's second try and the chase for Wade's score. This was not Maitland's best day, with the yellow-card avoidable, and little fizz in attack.
