Leicester Tigers earned a first win in the Premiership Rugby Cup with a 38-17 bonus-point victory over Wasps at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Tuesday evening.

Wasps were in front from the 10th minute and held a 10-point lead in the first half before Tigers secured a Pool 2 victory with tries from Sean Jansen, Emeka Ilione, Hosea Saumaki, Sam Edwards and Archie Vanes.

After taking one point from defeat at Sale Sharks in Round 1, Tigers added Cameron Henderson to the forward pack, joining Lewis Chessum in the second row, with James Whitcombe again named as captain among 12 graduates of the club’s academy in the matchday squad.

After fly-half Jed Walsh got the game started, kicking towards the Beehive Money Stand, a chargedown from Chessum momentarily held up Wasps’ exit, though the visitors did have the first scoring opportunity when a lineout drive ended with them held up over the tryline.

Wasps returned immediately to that corner and this time Ilione was able to step in and earn a penalty for Tigers, not for the last time in his evening’s work.

Tables were turned moments later, though when Ilione was penalised in possession and, when Wasps attacked down the left, full-back Olly Hartley prodded a kick perfectly down the touchline and wing Ollie Dawkins won the race to score. Will Haydon-Wood added the conversion for a seven-point lead.

A 50-22 kick from Walsh, spotting some space on the left, gave Tigers set-piece ball five metres from the tryline and they made the most of the platform as the lineout drive set up No8 Jansen to score. Walsh’s touchline conversion levelled the scores.

But Wasps quickly built a lead with a converted try from Hartley, who broke two tackles on his way to the line on the left, followed by a Haydon-Wood penalty to move 10 in front.

Ilione then produced a reply, showing his strength to beat the final defender on the line and, when Walsh added the extras, the gap was cut to three points before half-time.

Lachlan Shelley was denied a try at the start of the second half when Hartley chased back to win the chase to a clever kick to the corner by Sam Edwards.

Jansen’s physical carry was at the heart of the next attack, which brought a penalty 30 metres out which Walsh landed to level the scores at 17-17 on 50 minutes.

In defence, Joseph Woodward made a low tackle on Will Simonds and then recovered to get over the ball and win a penalty. When Walsh kick into Wasps territory, the lineout drive charged forward, followed by another whistle. Play stayed close in on the left and, after another push and another carry from Tom Horton, then Josh Manz, it was wing Saumaki who picked up and pushed his way over to give Tigers the lead for the first time.

Walsh added the conversion to make it 24-17 before being replaced by Morgan Meredith.

Tigers then produced a huge spell of goalline defence, making tackle after tackle just a metre in front of the tryline under their own posts and three times they held up opposition in a massive show of defiance.

Ilione won another penalty in defence as Tigers stood up to as fresh charge and, when play reached the opposition half, a sweeping attack involving Meredith and Jacob Cusick was finished by scrum-half Edwards for the bonus-point score.

Meredith kicked the conversion for his first senior points and moments later he was back on the tee after a score from hooker Vanes to take the lead to 21 points.

It was an Edwards 50-22 kick that put Tigers into the corner and Vanes was at the back of the maul which almost reached the line, then spun and went on his own over the final couple of metres.

Wasps had one final chance with a set-piece in the left-hand corner but Ilione again swooped over a tackle to win a penalty and close out the game.