ALEX King showed his class in the dying minutes of the match as Wasps snatched victory from London Irish in the Powergen Cup.

England's forgotten man landed a superb 79th minute drop goal from 30 metres to put his side in the box seat as injury time approached.

Mark Van Gisbergen followed it up with a penalty as Wasps overturned a four-point deficit at half time to claim the spoils on Sunday.

A damaged hamstring suffered by Exiles' Barry Everitt in the warm-up looked like being Wasps' downfall as his replacement Riki Flutey enjoyed a wonderful debut.

The New Zealander, who signed from Wellington Hurricanes only last week, landed two conversions and four penalties to give him a 100 per cent success rate with the boot.

His first kick at goal came after Shane Geraghty scampered in under the posts for the first try of the afternoon on seven minutes.

Flutey then kicked an 11th minute penalty to put his side 10-0 up.

Wasps replied through two Van Gisbergen penalties as the former electrician proved why he's worthy of his England call-up with another illuminating performance.

But the Men in Black's line-out seemed to be stuck on the M4 as calls were missed and possession given away in crucial areas.

Flutey added another impressive three-pointer from the touchline but his opposite number Van Gisbergen reduced the arrears to 16-12 at half time.

The visitors took the lead for the first time on 46 minutes when a great drive by their forwards put them within two metres of the Exiles' try line.

A subsequent scrum allowed number nine Eoin Reddan to pick the ball up and go over in the corner.

That man Flutey was at it again with another three points but Wasps crossed the line for a second time through flanker Jonny O'Connor.

Paul Sackey, who was making his first appearance at The Madejski since leaving Irish last season, was flattened in the tackle after a quick break but the ball broke to O'Connor who ran in unopposed.

A huge cheer went up from Wasps' travelling fans in the 60th minute when Josh Lewsey made his first appearance of the season after recovering from shoulder surgery in the summer.

And the brave British Lion showed no signs of easing himself back in gently as he put in one of his usual big hits within seconds of coming on.

Ian McGeechan, Wasps' director of rugby, looked to protect his side's five-point advantage in the closing stages by bringing on the experienced Matt Dawson.

However, the home side edged back into the lead when Topsy Ojo showed blistering pace to collect Delon Armitage's kick ahead and score under the posts.

Flutey's successful conversion made the score 26-24 as the Exiles tried to hold out for the remaining nine minutes.

However, King, who'd only been on the pitch for six minutes, popped up just outside the twenty two and coolly slotted home.

Van Gisbergen made the game safe with his last kick of the match to take his tally for the afternoon to 17 points.

Wasps head coach Shaun Edwards revealed he'd told his players at half time to up the tempo as they weren't performing to the standards expected.

He said: "We needed to play with a lot more passion and a lot more aggression. A bit more like Wasps really."

And Edwards praised match-winner King.

He said: "For me, he's having his best ever start to a season in terms of his attitude and performance McGeechan added: "Alex is so important to the way we've been playing. He is one of the core reasons for the team getting the right decisions at the right time."

A dejected Irish skipper Bob Casey said his side's dressing room was full of gloom after the game.

He said: "It's a measure of how far this team has come since last season. We are devastated. We should have won."

London Irish: Armitage, Staniforth, Penney, Geraghty, Bishop (Ojo 42), Flutey, Hodgson, Collins (Hatley 67), Paice, Hardwick, Casey (Strudwick 40), Kennedy, Gustard, Danaher, Leguizamon (Murphy 67).

Scorers: Tries - Geraghty, Ojo; Cons - Flutey (two); Pens - Flutey (four).

Wasps: Van Gisbergen, Sackey, Waters (Lewsey 60), Erinle, Voyce, Brooks (King 73), Reddan (Dawson 65), Payne, Gotting (Barrett 68), Bracken, Hart, Birkett, Worsley, O'Connor, Lock.

Scorers: Tries - Reddan, O'Connor; Cons - Van Gisbergen (one), Pens - Van Gisbergen (five); Drop Goals - King.

Attendance: 6,829.

Referee: Ashley Rowden.

London Irish 26, Wasps 30