Sting in the tail as Wasps hit back to down Bris
WASPS fought back from an early scare to beat Bristol at Cleve, leapfrogging them in the table in the process.
Cat McNaney’s try gave Bristol the slender lead at half-time as Wasps failed to find their rhythm.
But it was a different story after the break as the visitors dotted down three scores, all the while keeping their hosts at bay for a third win of the campaign.
The opening exchanges were closely fought with neither side giving an inch. The closest either team came to the opening try saw a superb tackle from Wasps Justine Lucas force a knock-on by Bristol in front of the posts.
But the home side did take the lead on 27 minutes as full-back McNaney dotted down in the corner, with the missed conversion seeing Bristol lead 5-0.
And although the hosts held on to their lead until half-time, that was as good as it got at Wasps came out after the restart firing on all cylinders.
It took just seven minutes of the second half for Wasps to draw level as a solid scrum in the middle of the pitch led to Gemma Rowland crossing the whitewash.
Bristol refused to lie down and were held up over the try-line, with Wasps defending for their lives and eventually earning a penalty.
Wasps looked to have butchered their chance to go ahead with a knock on over the line, but Rochelle Clark had other ideas, turning the ball over for Harriet Millar-Mills to power over.
And with time almost up, great play from Louise Dodd and Danielle Waterman led to Abby Dow going over in the corner, with the former adding the tough conversion.