Warriors weren’t able to overcome a stubborn Wasps side at Sixways, despite dominating the whole of the second-half.
An early Brendan Macken try and 14 points from the boot of Rob Miller in reply to Jamie Shillcock’s four penalties put Dai Young’s men in the driving seat at the break at 19-12 up.
And Warriors were caught cold after the break as Dan Robson stole in to score under the posts before Miller’s conversion gave the visitors a 26-12 lead.
It was all Warriors after that point as they barged their way forward time and time again in search of a comeback.
But Wasps proved impregnable and the hosts just couldn’t turn their possession into points as Wasps held on for a comfortable win.
Head Coach Carl Hogg made six changes to the side which suffered defeat to Exeter Chiefs as Jackson Willison, Cooper Vuna, Jaba Bregvadze, Donncha O’Callaghan, Sam Lewis and Alafoti Faosiliva all came back into the side.
Dewald Potgieter was named captain for the game and Nick Schonert led the Warriors side out on his 50th appearance for the Club but they saw their team go behind in the second minute as Macken intercepted a loose pass before racing to the line.
Warriors looked for an instant reply and put themselves on the board as Shillcock struck a penalty two minutes later to cut the visitors’ advantage to 7-3.
Shillcock was looking to help his side gain valuable territory with intelligent kicking and, after Miller had added his first penalty of the afternoon for Wasps, Warriors pinned their opponents back inside their own 22.
The hosts forced another penalty within range and Shillcock bisected the posts with his second kick.
At the other end Warriors were being forced to defend as Wasps looked for a way through. But the home side were proving a tough nut to crack.
Hogg’s men withstood a five-minute onslaught as Bryce Heem bundled Josh Bassett into touch before the Kiwi showed elusive footwork in attack to make ground upfield.
Warriors camped on the Wasps tryline just after the midway point of the first-half as they switched the ball across the backline.
Lewis, who was making his first ever Aviva Premiership start, made ground towards the line, as did Bregvadze and Potgieter, but the hosts were eventually forced to settle for a penalty as they cut the visitors’ lead to one point at 10-9.
Miller continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over for Wasps though and soon dispatched two penalties in quick succession.
But Shillcock launched a huge penalty from the ten-metre line to keep his side within striking distance at 16-12 behind.
Warriors looked to get to the break without any more damage but were on the receiving end of Miller’s fourth penalty as the teams turned around with Wasps 19-12 to the good.
Wasps looked sharp following the restart and went over for their second try as scrum-half Robson saw a gap in the home defence, before weaving in and out of two Warriors defenders and racing to the line.
Still, the hosts were intent on turning the game around and soon applied a heavy spell of pressure in search of a first try.
But Wasps were defending well and restricted Warriors to penalties, which the hosts opted to scrum.
As they struggled to make their possession count, Shillcock lined-up for the posts, only to see his effort drop narrowly wide.
Warriors were looking dangerous at 26-12 behind but they were struggling to find a way to the line.
Wynand Olivier thought he had found it midway through the second period, only for the referee Craig Maxwell-Keys to rule that the ball had been lost forward.
Hogg’s side continued to look the more threatening as they searched for a way through but time was running out as Wasps tightened their defence to repel every effort from the hosts.
And there was to be no comeback for Warriors as Wasps held firm.
Warriors | 15 Chris Pennell (Adams 60), 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Wynand Olivier, 12 Jackson Willison, 11 Cooper Vuna, 10 Jamie Shillcock, 9 Jonny Arr (Dowsett 46), 1 Val Rapava Ruskin (Leleimalefaga 60), 2 Jaba Bregvadze (Singleton 68), 3 Nick Schonert (Johnston 68), 4 Donncha O’Callaghan (Kitchener 58), 5 Darren Barry, 6 Dewald Potgieter (C), 7 Sam Lewis, 8 Alafoti Faosiliva (Dowson 73)
Replacements |16 Jack Singleton, 17 Na’ama Leleimalefaga, 18 James Johnston, 19 Andrew Kitchener, 20 Phil Dowson, 21 Michael Dowsett, 22 Connor Braid, 23 Josh Adams
Timeline:
2m | Macken try 0-5
3m | Miller con 0-7
5m | Shillcock pen 3-7
8m | Miller pen 3-10
12m | Shillcock pen 6-10
25m | Shillcock pen 9-10
30m | Miller pen 9-13
32m | Miller pen 9-16
34m | Shillcock pen 12-16
39m | Miller pen 12-19
45m | Robson try 12-24
46m | Miller con 12-26