Rob Henderson, deputising at stand-off, scored a hat-trick of tries as Wasps scored a deserved 43-23 victory over Gloucester.

The Irish international has spent his entire career in the centres but a succession of injuries at fly-half meant Henderson was thrust into an unfamiliar role.

He did not disappoint coach Nigel Melville as he took three opportunist chances - driving over from close range on each occasion.

However, the match was marred by a collection of off-the-ball violence, this was highlighted in the opening stages.

In a half which saw 40 points scored, the opening interval will be better remembered for off-the-ball scraps and a collection of unforced errors.

The Gloucester front row lightened by the absence of Phil Vickery and David Flatman seemed intent to spoil and frustrate a fiery Wasps pack.

Will Green, Ian Jones and Serge Simon all received yellow cards for fighting and Phil Greening was fortunate not to join them.

Despite this the home side dominated the first 40 minutes, spending the majority of the half camped in the Gloucester 22.

The West Country outfit illustrated why they are a difficult side to overcome, scoring two tries in their only foray into the opposition half.

The first came after four minutes, when winger Tom Beim touched down following a long pass from centre Chris Yates.

The second arrived on 19 minutes, when Yates blasted his way through a weak Wasps backline to touch down under the posts.

Wasps made sure they finished the half with the scores level at 20-all with three-try hero Henderson grabbing two of the efforts.

Both tries arrived following concerted pressure on the Gloucester line, the large stand-off thrived on the quick ball engineered by scrum-half Martyn Wood.

His efforts came either side of a 26-minute try from Canadian flier Shane Roiser. Roiser outsprinted his opposite wing Beim following a powerful break from full-back Josh Lewsey, Kenny Logan duly converted.

Wasps' inability to recruit a goal-kicker in the absence of the injured John Ufton, appeared to threaten their chances of victory.

Winger Logan shouldered the responsibility, despite a previous chequered kicking career.

He missed with his first three efforts, including one kick in front of the posts but showed why he believes he can kick at international level with five consecutive goals.

The game belonged to Henderson and with six minutes of the match remaining, he crowned a memorable performance with his third try of the afternoon.

The finishing gloss was added to the Wasps' victory, as flanker Joe Worsley scored a late try to make the final score 43-23.