WASPS stars Lawrence Dallaglio and Josh Lewsey said they were inspired to victory after all the pre-match hype concentrated on Leicester and skipper Martin Johnson's last competitive game.

Much of the build-up had focussed on the retiring Leicester trio of Martin Johnson, Neil Back and John Wells, with Wasps relegated to the role of also-rans.

And that attitude roused Wasps to reach greater heights.

Dallaglio roared: "Everytime I listened to the radio, I kept hearing about Leicester Tigers, Martin Johnson and Neil Back.

"They're two of the best players the game has ever seen but we've been the champions for the last two years."

Head coach Shaun Edwards was angry about the little coverage Wasps received before the game.

He blasted: "You need two teams to play a game.

"We did think that there had been quite a lot of concentration on the Leicester Tigers, particularly the way they had cut our defence open at certain times throughout the year.

"But I thought today our defensive performance was top drawer. Ayoola Erinle and Josh Lewsey were both world class today."

Lewsey, who links up with the British Lions today, said: "About seven or eight weeks ago we said to the guys, whenever you're a bit tired, think of Martin Johnson and Neil Back lifting the cup and it's that desire that came through.

"I think we wanted it a bit more. Quite often it comes down to desire on the day."

Lewsey and his teammates were desperate to avoid a repeat of the 45-10 mauling inflicted upon them by Tigers in the last league match of the season.

He said: "They absolutely hammered us two weeks ago but to bounce back from that and do it on the big occasion is what it's all about."

"There's an element of fear there. I was certainly more nervous than I had been all year. You don't want to embarrass yourself like we had done two weeks ago.

"Today, for the first time, I think we performed at a level we had done last year and I think our defence won the day.

Wasps skipper Dallaglio paid tribute to Johnson but admitted that the hype surrounding Tigers had played into Wasps' hands.

He said: "I'm not taking anything away from them. They are world class players. Martin Johnson in this country is arguably the greatest.

"I'm sure he would have preferred a nice quiet build-up to the week but you've got to feed off any kind of motivation that you can."