England were dealt another RBS 6 Nations Championship injury blow when Stuart Abbott limped off during Wasps' 46-13 Heineken Cup victory over Calvisano at the Causeway Stadium.

The centre damaged an ankle and was replaced by Ayoola Erinle in the 13th minute, but it did not stop Wasps moving to the top of Pool Six.

Though the Italians spent most of the first half in defence, they gave a slow-starting Wasps side something to think about when they did attack.

They took the lead after two minutes with fly-half Gerard Fraser slotting a penalty. Calvisano threatened to increase that lead with a try from a break-out, but the move was stopped by Abbott's last action of the match.

The Italians continued attacking and got another penalty for offside with Fraser again scoring to put the visitors 6-0 up.

Wasps stepped up the intensity and were rewarded with their first points through the boot of Alex King with a penalty for offside.

The first of Wasps three first-half tries came in the 18th minute. A series of attacks left the Italians in disarray with Scottish referee Rob Dickson giving a penalty try for persistent infringements after Wasps were again foiled when crossing the line.

The Italians were further stretched in the 30th minute when their kicker Fraser was sent to the sin-bin.

Wasps added two more tries in that period. The first came after 33 minutes when left-wing John Rudd got the ball 10 metres out from a blindside move, with the "Rhino" charging over in the right-hand corner.

The second came just before half-time after a series of attacks with the ball eventually moved out to the far right with centre Erinle diving over.

King converted both difficult kicks to make the score 24-6.

The Italians continued to make life hard for Wasps in the second half, but the visitors were by now virtually strangers to the Wasps' half of the field.

The first try came 10 minutes into the second half with flanker Jonny O'Connor going over with his pack pushing behind him. That try secured Wasps a bonus point, but King failed to convert for the first time in the match.

Though Wasps were in complete control, the Italians still proved resolute defenders.

Three more tries came in the last quarter of the match for Wasps, with prop Tim Payne scoring in the 68th minute, before Rudd completed his hat-trick with two further tries.

The last in the 76th minute was the try of the match with a flowing move involving many hands ending with a flamboyant dive by the winger under the posts.

But it was the Italians who had the last word as they moved the ball down the right hand side, before releasing Emiliano Mulieri to score under the posts. Fraser converted to leave the final score 46-13.

That left Wasps at the top of Pool Six, but they still need to travel to Perpignan next week to secure their place in the quarter-finals.

Teams:

Wasps: van Gisbergen, Voyce, Abbott, Denney, Rudd, A. King, Richards, Payne, Leota, Green, Purdy, Skivington, Volley, O'Connor, Worsley.

Replacements: Roiser for van Gisbergen (78), Erinle for Abbott (15), Biljon for Richards (71), Mackenzie for Payne (69), Gotting for Leota (64), Lock for Volley (69), Clarke for Worsley (79).

Tries: Penalty, Rudd 3, Erinle, O'Connor, Payne.

Cons: A. King 4.

Pens: A. King.

Ghial Amatori & Calvino: Vaccari, Mulieri, Vodo, Zanoletti, Mazzuccato, Fraser, Canavosio, Davo, Moretti, Castrogiovanni, Mastrodomenico, Ngauamo, Mayerhofler, Zaffiri, De Rossi.

Replacements: De Carli for Vaccari (40), Raineri for Vodo (78), Griffen for Canavosio (64), Ravazzolo for Davo (40), Purll for Castrogiovanni (53), Mandelli for Mastrodomenico (53), Perugini.

Tries: Mulieri.

Cons: Fraser.

Pens: Fraser 2.

Sin Bin: Fraser (31), Zanoletti (66).

Att: 8,402

Ref: Rob Dixon (RFU).