WASPS zipped over the hard ground to score five tries in dismantling Gloucester on Sunday, but afterwards Tony Hanks insisted his team were still far from their best.

He said: “In some ways that was us winning ugly. I didn’t think we were at our best.

“We’re still looking for that consistency at the moment and even in the first half there were two or three opportunities that we didn’t take.

“At half-time we were in control then lost our way a little bit.

“But some of the tries we did score were outstanding. When you’ve got that pace at nine and ten there’s a threat there, and that releases the guys on the outside.”

Joe Simpson’s return has coincided with Wasps’ best rugby of the season.

Head coach Shaun Edwards said: “The last couple of weeks has been fantastic. The speed of our backs is pretty obvious.

“But this is the first time we’ve had anything like a full squad available all season and it’s no coincidence that we’ve started playing better when we’ve got our best players back out on the pitch.

“The Joe Simpson injury hit us hard, very, very hard. He’s the centre of our team. He really does make us tick.

“But I’m trying to work out ways to stop him tackling so much to look after him.

“He’s one of the bravest lads you’ll ever come across. He really puts his body on the line.”

Simon Shaw also returned and with Phil Vickery expected to feature at Worcester in some capacity this weekend, Wasps are in great shape going into the home straight.

Hanks said: “The last couple of weeks has given us a lot of confidence.

“We gave ourselves a real hiding after the Sale game. That was meant to be when we started our push forward and we didn’t.

“Northampton gave us some belief in what we’re doing but we didn’t get the result, so that’s why the last two weeks have been so important.

“We’ve played two of the best attacking teams in the league and come out on top.

“We’re in a semi-final now, but we can put this competition to bed for a couple of weeks because we’ve got two massive Premiership games coming up.

“Worcester away is huge for us – our record there is not flash – and then we’ve got the Twickenham game. We’re still in knock-out rugby.”