London Wasps edge out Gloucester Rugby to reach Amlin Challenge Cup semi

London Wasps sealed their passage to the semi-finals of the Amlin Challenge Cup by beating Gloucester Rugby 36-24 at Adams Park tonight.

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Nothing could separate the sides throughout the opening 13 minutes until Andy Goode added the game's first score with a drop goal to give the hosts a three-point lead.

Matt Mullen touched down for Wasps on the half-hour mark before the boot of Goode opened up a 10-0 advantage with the conversion.

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The fly-half was in fine form as Goode added a penalty, while Robert Cook also found the posts as Dai Young's men secured a 13-3 half-time lead.

The Londoners continued their dominance early in the second as Carlo Festuccia crossed over for his team's second of the game to put Young's charges in cruise control.

However, Gloucester refused to bow out with a whimper and Nigel Davies's troops made inroads towards a spirited comeback.

Jonny May and Gareth Evans both touched down within six minutes of each other to reduce the arrears to 23-17 and give the visitors a fighting chance.

Nevertheless, William Helu added a third try on 76 minutes after Goode had earlier struck back-to-back penalties, but Martyn Thomas bagged a consolation in the dying moments to restore pride to the scoreline.