In the first half the normally rock solid Wasps defence was not at its best, and frequent handling errors meant they could not build up any momentum in attack, but the real problem was the slick handling of the Manchester backline, which saw the ball moved on quickly as tackles came in, whilst their pace on the wings saw them run in five tries, three of which were converted for a 0v31 lead at half time,

After half time the Wasps defence was much better, only conceding two more tries, one of which owing much to a fortuitous bounce of the ball, which saw a Manchester kick out of defence turned into a score.

When the Wasps looked for tries of their own, Manchester were as good in defence as they had been in attack, to keep the Wasps scoreless.

A bonus for the Wasps was the return to the team midway through the second half of Hayley Hodgson, who had been out since before Christmas, after a serious injury against Barnsley. Her arrival further strengthened the defence, but she never got the space to get away in attack.

The table would suggest it has been a tough season for the Wasps, with just a single win and draw for all their efforts, but half of their losses were by seven or less points, and they have played large parts of the season without a number of their key players of past seasons, who could have helped the promising newcomers turn narrow defeats into victory.