Stephen Jones on Cipriani and Wilkinson, the two kings of English rugby

Under the bright lights of Adams Park in High Wycombe rather than those of the West End of London, Danny Cipriani returned to his traditional milieu of professional rugby last night but, despite his best efforts, he could not prevent London Wasps slumping to a worrying fourth defeat in five Guinness Premiership matches this season. Cipriani came through unscathed, Wasps did not.

The 20-year-old was the man of the moment, all eyes and lenses trained on him, but he took it all in his considerable stride. He felt his way back in the early stages and was at fault for Bath’s first try when dropping an up-and-under, but then began to find his form and his feet.

Kicking from hand came easily, he landed four attempts from five for 11 points — the fifth was controversially denied — and generally he did as much as anyone could have expected, considering the fanfare that accompanied his return. He ran freely, passed well and never shirked a tackle. He departed after 52 minutes, having conceded a penalty for a shoulder charge on Butch James, and watched the rest of the match from the touchline.

“I was just happy to get through the match,” Cipriani said. “I felt a bit rusty at first. Now I just want a run of games. I didn’t feel any reaction.”

Shaun Edwards, the Wasps head coach, was livid that Cipriani’s goal had been disallowed by Sean Davey, the referee, despite being given by both touch judges. He said he had never known a decision that so changed the dynamic of a game. He did, however, praise Bath.

Their win, together with a bonus point that took them deservedly to the top of the table, was fired by outstanding performances from Michael Claassens and Matt Stevens. Having somehow trailed 16-12 at half-time, Bath were ahead within four minutes of the restart. Pieter Dixon, the hooker, drove over from short range after Stevens had, not for the first time, cleaved his way through several tackles. James’s penalty after Cipriani’s minor indiscretion before his departure put the visiting team 20-16 ahead.

Wasps replied with a series of attacks that resulted in Tom Rees forcing his way over, Jeremy Staunton converting. The lead, though, was short-lived as Bath retaliated with a try by Joe Maddock from the kick-off, after smart work by Nick Abendanon. As hard as they tried, Wasps simply could not claw back the difference.

It was astonishing that Wasps were in contention, let alone in the lead, at the interval. For the first quarter they were chasing shadows, while Bath continued where they left off against Worcester Warriors on Saturday. Cipriani’s first touch saw him ushered into touch, his next led indirectly to Bath’s first try in the sixth minute. He failed to gather Abendanon’s kick, Dixon picked up the scraps and, although he probably could have made it to the line, he looked for support. Instead, from the ruck, Claassens ducked low and over.

Cipriani was feeling his way as the game proceeded at 100mph and with Wasps on the back foot. Paul Sackey did well to clear up, only to be pushed back to concede a five-metre scrum. Bath went left, Stevens took up the charge and although Cipriani tried to haul him down, Stevens was not to be stopped. James converted.

Before the referee’s intervention, Cipriani kicked a penalty and added a second a minute later, easing into his stride as he found the rhythm of the match. A sweet pass put Riki Flutey into space, the centre exchanging passes with Tom Palmer before scoring. Cipriani converted and then added a 45-metre penalty on the stroke of half-time to leave the champions ahead but flattered by the scoreline.

Scorers: London Wasps: Tries: Flutey (37min), Rees (60). Conversions: Cipriani, Staunton. Penalty goals: Cipriani 3 (17, 34, 40). Bath: Tries: Claassens (6), Stevens (15), Dixon (44), Maddock (63). Conversions: James 2. Penalty goal: James (52).

Scoring sequence: (London Wasps first): 0-5, 0-12, 3-12, 6-12, 13-12, 16-12 (half-time), 16-17, 16-20, 23-20, 23-27.

London Wasps: T Voyce; P Sackey, D Waldouck, R Flutey, J Lewsey; D Cipriani (rep: J Staunton, 53), E Reddan (rep: M Robinson, 75); T Payne (rep: T French, 77), R Ibañez (rep: R Webber, 64), P Vickery, S Shaw, T Palmer (rep: R Birkett, 74), J Worsley (rep: J Haskell, 31), T Rees, J Hart.

Bath: N Abendanon; J Maddock, A Crockett, S Berne, J Cuthbert (rep: A Higgins, 62); B James, M Claassens; D Barnes (rep: D Bell, 62), P Dixon (rep: L Mears, 62), M Stevens, J Harrison, P Short, S Hooper, M Lipman (rep: J Scaysbrook, 40+1), J Fa’amatuainu.

Referee: S Davey. Attendance: 9,052.