Dominant Dallaglio the real deal in Wasps win

These are anxious times for Wasps. They may be second in the Zurich Premiership, but with 13 players, including the World Cup heroes Lawrence Dallaglio, Joe Worsley and Stuart Abbott, still to commit themselves to renewed deals, their coach, Warren Gatland, cannot relax until ink has dried on contracts.

Dallaglio is in negotiations, but the salary cap of around £1.8 million and hungry youngsters to satisfy means hanging on to the high paid stars is not easy.

"You have to get a balance," said Gatland, after a comfortable win over Sale at chilly Wycombe. "We want to have Lawrence's services, he is the best No 8 in the world at the moment." Dallaglio, who admitted that a French club or two was interested in signing him, said: "Negotiations have only just begun, but I want to get this issue out of the way in the next couple of weeks." And he intimated that there was every chance that there would be a positive outcome to the talks.

Dallaglio may not have signed, but at least he delivered yesterday and helped seal Sale's fate. He scored Wasps' second try, stealing off the back of a scrum and dummying outside to Josh Lewsey before cutting inside and thumping the ball into the ground one-handed. It underlined his value to the side and, alongside the ever-improving Worsley and the competitive Paul Volley, he made the Wasps back row as formidable a unit as any in the Premiership.

Gatland reckons that Wasps will be "useful" over the next 18 months to two years, but with the playing staff they have and on yesterday's evidence, the second half in particular, they should be more than that.

There was an air of anticlimax to Wasps first try. Lewsey broke down the right, Volley picked up and although he was credited with the touchdown it later transpired that the England lock Simon Shaw got the final touch. There was not much of a cheer from the crowd, indeed the initial impression was that the touchdown was short of the line and that a penalty had been awarded for an infringement on the ground. There was no doubt about Shaw's second try. A brilliant break down the right by Lewsey culminated in him finding Shaw at his shoulder. Game over.

Sale had managed a try to close off the first half, through the lock Chris Jones, and the fly-half Charlie Hodgson added a conversion and a penalty after the interval, but Alex King's three penalties and a superlative defence helped Wasps hold firm.

Wasps: Tries Shaw 2, Dallaglio; Conversion King; Penalties King 3. Sale: Tries Jones; Conversion Hodgson; Penalty Hodgson.

Wasps: M van Gisbergen; J Lewsey, F Waters, M Denney (A Erinle, 59), T Voyce; A King, R Howley; C Dowd , T Leota (P Greening, 66), T Payne (W Green, 66), S Shaw, M Purdy, J Worsley, L Dallaglio (capt), P Volley (J O'Connor, 72).

Sale: V Going (J Hoyle, 76); M Cueto, C Mayor, J Robinson, S Hanley; C Hodgson, B Redpath; A Sheridan (K Yates, 62), M Cairns (A Titterrell, 62), S Turner (B Stewart, 51), C Jones (C Day, 77), D Schofield, J White, S Pinkerton, A Sanderson (capt, M Lund, 69).

Referee: A Spreadbury (Keynsham).