Leeds Carnegie bit an emotional farewell to captain Stuart Hooper and Director of Rugby Stuart Lancaster on a sweltering afternoon at Headingley Carnegie but despite a thoroughly entertaining display they lost out 45-28 to title chasing Wasps.
Leeds scored tries through Tom Biggs, Jonny Hepworth and Hendre Fourie and led for the majority of the first half but, as so often this season, they were left to rue what might have been in the final analysis.
Leeds Carnegie made a bright start in sweltering conditions at Headingley Carnegie and took the game to the illustrious visitors.  A good break by Scott Armstrong in midfield creating the first scoring opportunity when Wasps were penalised for hands in the ruck and Alberto Di Bernardo stepped up to give his side a 3-0 lead after six minutes.
The home side had a great chance to extend their lead when Kearnan Myall made a brilliant break up field covering nearly 40 metres only to see Rob Vickerman knock on his offload with the Wasps defence scrambling back.
However, Leeds continued to build pressure and once again Wasps could not resist coming through offside and referee Andrew Small had no hesitation in awarding Leeds a second kickable penalty in front of the posts on the 22 metre line. Di Bernardo was accurate again and doubled his side's lead after 11 minutes.
Leeds were enjoying the vast majority of possession in the opening quarter and Di Bernardo was given another opportunity after 16 minutes when Lawrence Dallaglio was penalised for offside after several close drives by the Leeds pack. He duly added his third kick of the day to make it 9-0.
However, with Wasps hunting for a top four finish, Leeds knew there would be a sting in the tail for the visitors and with their first attack of the half they scored the first try the game. The forwards moved the ball forward but it was winger Tom Voyce who eventually stretched for the line to score the try. Jeremy Staunton added the simple conversion to make it 9-7 after 19 minutes.
Wasps were beginning to exert some pressure on Leeds and it appeared as if they would find another way through with controlled possession however a loose pass by Staunton was snatched by Tom Biggs who raced 80 metres untouched to score between the posts and bring the Headingley Carnegie crowd to their feet. Di Bernardo converted to make it 16-7 after 26 minutes.
Leeds had to absorb even more pressure after that the visitors looked to make amends for that error. Dallaglio and Worsley led the charge for Wasps but after a number of drives for the line from close range, they spilled possession and Joe Bedford was able to put in the clearing kick. However, Wasps made sure they came away with points on their next visit to the Leeds line and Staunton kicked a penalty after Hendre Fourie was caught offside to make it 16-10 after 32 minutes.
With six minutes remaining in the half both teams looked to be suffering from the hot conditions as they kicked possession away to make the opposition attack from deep. Eventually, Wasps regained possession inside the Leeds half and they spread the ball wide to open up the Leeds defence. Leigh Hinton slipped as Voyce cut back inside and the winger went through for his second try of the afternoon. Staunton converted to give Wasps the lead for the first time at 17-16.
Having led for the majority of the first half, Leeds were dealt a bitter blow in first half stoppage time when centre Fraser Waters sliced through the home defence to score his side's third try and extend Wasps lead to 24-16 at the break with Staunton's conversion.
Whilst Wasps were hunting a bonus point in the second half, Leeds were looking to leave the Guinness Premiership with their pride intact and the home side more than held their own against Wasps in the opening exchanges.
However, ten minutes in they scored that crucial fourth try when former Leeds player Mark McMillan, on as a replacement, broke through 25 metres out and fed Raphael Ibanez to score. Staunton added the conversion to make it 31-16 to the visitors.
Leeds still looked to show invention on attack, one of their best moves coming from a cross field kick by Di Bernardo to Hepworth on the wing, he took the kick and passed back inside to the supporting run of Hinton in one movement but the full back was only just unable to round the last man to score.
The home side got their reward for their efforts when a flowing move saw John Holtby slice through the Wasps defence before passing along the line for Hepworth to score in the corner. Di Bernardo only missed the touchline conversion but Leeds had cut the deficit to 31-21 with 20 minutes to go. 
However, any thoughts of a fightback were soon quashed as Wasps hit back straight from the kick off. Once again it was McMillan who made the decisive break before quick thinking by replacement hooker Joe Ward saw him dive over next to the post. Staunton's conversion making the score 38-21.
Leeds though did not throw in the towel and came right back at Wasps four minutes later. Hinton made a break down the South Stand side to set up the position before Di Bernardo spotted Myall on his own out on the wing. He kicked across field and although he was tackled he managed to offload back inside to Adam Hopcroft to keep the move going. Three drives later, Hendre Fourie powered his way over to score his side's third try. Di Bernardo converted to make it 38-28 after 65 minutes.
The final ten minutes saw a cameo appearance by England pin up boy Danny Cipriani whilst Leeds bought on their own great hope Adam Greendale however neither play a part in Voyce wrapping up his hat trick as he timed his run perfectly to take the pass and go through untouched to score behind the posts. Staunton's conversion made it 45-28 after 72 minutes.
As always this season, the Leeds team continued to give their all throughout a pulsating game, none more so than Kearnan Myall who was outstanding for the home side and deservedly won the man of the match award.
Leeds Carnegie: Hinton, Armstrong, Vickerman, Holtby, Biggs, Di Bernardo, Bedford, MacDonald, Ma'asi, McGee, Hooper, Myall, Dunbar, Fourie, Balding
Replacements: Hopcroft for McGee (61), Rawlinson for Ma'asi (61), Bouza for Dunbar (56), Lock for Balding (46), Edwards for Bedford (HT), Greendale for Di Bernardo (71), Hepworth for Armstrong (19)
London Wasps: Van Gisbergen, Sackey, Waters, Flutey, Voyce, Staunton, Reddan, French, Ibanez, Holford, Shaw, Palmer, Worsley, Haskell, Dallaglio
Replacements: Ward for Ibanez (54), Payne for French (HT), Birkett for Shaw (60), Webber for Worsley (61), McMillan for Reddan (46), Lewsey for Sackey (18), Cipriani for Ward (BB70 rev 76)
Referee: Andrew Small
Attendance: 7,842