Despite their victory over Newport Gwent Dragons yesterday, London Wasps’ faint hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the EDF Energy Cup were extinguished by Gloucester’s win away to Newcastle. Their season of mediocrity, therefore, continues.

Shaun Edwards, the head coach, had urged the players given an opportunity by the absence of eight internationals away with England, to make their mark. But this was another unconvincing display. The only consolation, in what proved to be a meaningless match in what is really an irrelevant tournament, the passing of which next season will not be mourned, was that the Dragons were equally bad.

Perhaps Ian McGeechan got it right when he suggested that the competition would have more value if it was played pre-season. “Teams would take it seriously,” the Wasps director of rugby said. “If they are looking for a place to run this competition, take it out of the season and get rid of some of these Premiership games out of the international weekends, because that is ridiculous. That is what undermines the quality of the Premiership.”

The Wasps forwards did their job, especially the front row, which made mincemeat of their Dragons counterparts to such an extent that two of the Welsh region’s props were injured in as many minutes, and the game ended with uncontested scrums. The Dragons were repeatedly penalised at the scrum for standing up, slipping their binding, or collapsing.

Tim Payne had Rhys Thomas, the Dragons tight-head, floundering, but Wasps struggled to turn their superiority into a points advantage. Their inability to make the most of an eight-minute siege on the Dragons line at the end of the first half via a succession of scrums, was worrying, although Chris White, the referee, would have been within his rights to have awarded a penalty try.

Two penalty goals by Dave Walder, against one by Shaun Connor, separated the teams at half-time. A try by Ashley Smith, converted by Connor, gave the Dragons the lead, Walder’s third penalty reduced the arrears before Damien Varley the replacement prop, drove over only three minutes after coming on. Josh Lewsey pounced on a loose pass from Tom Isaacs under the posts in stoppage time to put a gloss on the scoreline.

Scorers: London Wasps: Tries: Varley (73min), Lewsey (80+7). Conversion: Walder. Penalty goals: Walder 3 (2, 16, 63). Newport Gwent Dragons: Try: Smith (53). Conversion: Connor. Penalty goal: Connor (13).

Scoring sequence (Wasps first): 3-0, 3-3, 6-3 (half-time), 6-10, 9-10, 14-10, 21-10.

London Wasps: M van Gisbergen; J Lewsey, R Hoadley (rep: M Lawlor, 77), J Staunton (rep: L Mitchell, 59), T Voyce; D Walder, M Robinson (rep: E Reddan, 60); T Payne (rep: T French, 71), R Webber (rep: T Lindsay, 80+5), P Barnard (rep: D Varley, 70), D Leo (rep: H Ellis, 63), R Birkett, J Hart, S Betsen, J Worsley.

Newport Gwent Dragons: P Dollman; T Selley, R Gomer-Davies (rep: M Stcherbina, 40+1), A Smith, R Fussell; S Connor, T Isaacs; A Black (rep: A Murphy 67; rep: D Lydiate, 69), T Willis (rep: S Jones, 57), R Thomas, H MacDonald, A Hall (rep: A Brown, 80), J Bearman, J Ringer, L Evans.

Referee: C White (England).

Attendance: 7,980.