WASPS' international cavalry came to the rescue on Sunday to beat Sale and reduce the gap at the top of the table.

The Premiership champions were 16-9 down when the call came for England internationals Lawrence Dallaglio, Tom Voyce and Simon Shaw to enter the field of play from the bench.

And within a minute, Wasps drew level before going on to inflict Sale's third league defeat of the season and close the gap at the top to four points.

And it could get worse for the league leaders. Sale had influential number eight Sebastien Chabal sent off for stamping on Dallaglio. He also appeared to spit at Fraser Waters when leaving the field and, if found guilty at a subsequent disciplinary hearing, he could miss the rest of the season.

For Wasps, the victory was much-needed after going without a win in their last three games.

And it was also a thoroughly-deserved win, with Wasps the more attacking and inventive of the two sides.

Only some last-gasp defending and some illegal play prevented Wasps scoring in the first half.

Time and again, Wasps looked to pound the Sale try-line, only for referee Roy Maybank to blow for a penalty following a Sale infringement.

Wasps still managed to get close through Daniel Leo and Joe Ward but all they had to show for the first 30 minutes of play was two penalties by Mark van Gisbergen.

Sale were ahead at that point when they scored their try from a rare incursion into Wasps territory. Fraser Waters back after injury stepped up too soon and Richard Wrigglesworth's delayed pass released Mark Taylor.

He then offloaded to fellow centre Robert Todd who had the easy task of touching down for the score.

Wrigglesworth playing out of position due to injury and international call-ups to Sale's four fly halves slotted the conversion and a penalty to make it 10-6 after 30 minutes.

But Wasps remained undaunted and pressed on and, when another penalty came their way, Maybank finally lost patience and sent Ignacio Fernandez-Lobbe to the sin-bin.

Van Gisbergen converted the penalty but Sale had the last laugh of the half when Wrigglesworth's penalty gave them a 13-9 half-time lead.

That margin was increased to seven points in the second half as Sale began the period well, denying Wasps territory from which to launch attacks.

They could have gone further ahead as well but Wrigglesworth's penalty was well off.

That was still the signal for the Dallaglio and co to arrive on the hour mark and they didn't disappoint.

Shaw's first touch saw him burst deep into Sale territory. A series of thrusts pulled defenders out of position until Richard Birkett was given enough space to cap a man-of-the-match performance with a try.

Van Gisbergen made a difficult conversion look easy and, after stuttering through recent games, Wasps were back to their best.

James Honeyben, on his first team debut, impressed greatly by doing the simple things well, while Mark Lock was sensational at number eight.

But old-stager Dallaglio was to the fore of most things and his quick hands allowed Voyce to sprint clear on 72 minutes. The excellent Tom Rees was on hand to carry the ball on before his pass allowed Rob Hoadley to score the converted try.

Sale looked to get back but any chance of victory went when Chabal stamped on Dallaglio after he was tackled.

The red card came out and more indiscipline followed when Chris Jones pushed Dallaglio over a couple of minutes later, leading Maybank to reverse a penalty.

Van Gisbergen converted for his tenth point of the game and denied Sale a bonus point as Wasps begin the fight to overhaul the league leaders.

Wasps: Van Gisbergen, Sackey (Voyce 59), Erinle, Waters, Hoadley, Staunton, Honeyben (Biljon 79), McKenzie, Ward (Barrett 50), Payne (J Dawson 64), Skivington (Shaw 59), Birkett, Leo (Dallaglio 59), Rees, Lock (Dallaglio 32-34). Not used: Brooks.

Scorers: Tries - Birkett, Hoadley; Cons - Van Gisbergen (two); Pens - Van Gisbergen (four).

Referee: Roy Maybank.

Attendance: 10,000.

Wasps 26, Sale 16