A record breaking crowd was in attendance as Wasps began life in Coventry with a thumping 48-16 win against London Irish.

The 28,254 fans inside the Ricoh Arena witnessed fly-half Andy Goode set a new Premiership points record on his home patch as he led the way to victory with a haul of 33 points – one better than Niall Woods’ 32 points for London Irish against Harlequins in April 1998.

Goode kicked eight penalties, two conversions and ran in a try as Wasps secured a valuable bonus point, with further scores from Joe Simpson, Elliot Daly and Andrea Masi completing the rout.

Coventry born Goode led the Wasps charge as they scored 30 unanswered points in the second half to wrap up what he believes was the perfect start to life at their new home.

He said: "It sounds a bit cheesy, but that really is the stuff dreams are made of. Obviously as a Sky Blues fan I've been up here to watch Coventry City play a few times, so it was great for me to run out and play here.

"And to then come off and find out that it was an individual Premiership points record is Christmas come early for me.”

Wasps had put on coaches to ferry supporters from Buckinghamshire to the Ricoh and they got what they wanted as fans turned out in force to show their support for the black and golds – setting a new record for Premiership attendance at a recognised home ground in the process.

The legions of fans were on their feet after only six minutes as Goode landed a penalty from 45 metres - one of six penalties he notched in the first half.

Irish played their part in a tight opening period and went in only 18-16 behind at the break after prop Geoff Cross scored the first try of the match.

After the break, however, it was one-way traffic. The visitors could find no answer to stem the tide in the second half after Simpson crashed over on the right to open the floodgates just four minutes after the restart.

Goode added two more penalties before he enjoyed a moment to savour, running in beneath the posts to take full advantage of the home side’s one man advantage following David Paice’s yellow card.

Daly ran in try number three as Wasps continued to dominate before, with the final attack of the game just as they had done at Adams Park the week before, the home side scored again with Andrea Masi diving over in the left corner to secure the bonus point and ensure life in Coventry got off to the best possible start.