If Lawrence Dallaglio wants to conclude his career with a trophy, he will have to do it the hard way. London Wasps, ever realistic, believed that the EDF Energy Cup was the competition most likely to bring them silverware this season and send their captain into retirement in appropriate style, but Leicester put a spoke into that particular wheel on Saturday with a 34-24 victory.

What goes around, comes around. Three years ago Wasps, by crushing Leicester at Twickenham in the Guinness Premiership final, denied two other great England stalwarts, Martin Johnson and Neil Back, a glorious ride into the sunset. Only a fool would discount the possibility of Wasps, whose defence of the Heineken Cup was washed away by Munster in January, climbing into a Premiership play-offs place in May, but they lie seventh in the table, just one of a pack seeking to claw their way into the top four and guarantee a place in Europe.

It mattered little that every time Wasps sought the vast open spaces of the Millennium Stadium, they threatened to find a chink in Leicester's defence. They lost the vital collisions, they could not control the ball in contact and their famed defensive system could not be brought to bear on a side going forward close to the breakdown and mixing, to great effect, the rapier with the bludgeon - weapons Leicester will need again when, for the second successive year, they meet the Ospreys in the final at Twickenham on April 12.

How good it is to see Harry Ellis back at the Leicester helm, apparently none the worse for ten months of rehabilitation to the cruciate ligament damage to his left knee. His club have missed him, so has his country and Brian Ashton, the England head coach, watching at home on television and wondering precisely what his employers at the RFU have in mind for his long-term future, must consider him for the June tour to New Zealand.

The scrum half was as sharp as a needle, adding focus to the grunt and grind in front of him, one break nearly taking him all the way to the Wasps line. The possibilities of an England half-back pairing of Ellis and Danny Cipriani are manifold, though Ellis would emphasise the gifts of his club partner, Andy Goode, who overshadowed Cipriani on the afternoon with a match-winning display.

Goode has dealt admirably with the buffets of misfortune. He is all too aware that Leicester are in negotiations with Juan Martín Hernández, the talented Argentina fly half or full back, who scored 12 points for Stade Français in their remarkable 29-0 win over Toulouse in front of nearly 80,000 at the Stade de France on Saturday. “What will be, will be,” Goode said philosophically. “Marcello [Loffreda, Leicester's Argentinian head coach] has given me a lot of confidence, but if Hernández turns up, there's not a lot I can do about it.”

On this form, there is: the length of Goode's touch-kicking, the little chips that turned Wasps time and again and created a try for Dan Hipkiss, the organisation that contrasted so vividly with the solo skills that Cipriani purveyed every time he touched the ball.

Sadly for England's wunderkind, that was not often enough in a match in the Welsh capital that served as a reminder that English sides can play a bit, too. He threatened to undermine Leicester's huff and puff midway through the first half, in which Wasps had seen virtually no ball yet trailed by only three points. Enter Cipriani, going wide around Hipkiss then offering Johne Murphy a hint of a dummy before going through to score. When Eoin Reddan scooted away on the blind side of a scrum to set up Paul Sackey for their second try, Wasps must have felt it could be their day.

But Leicester had done their homework against their old foes. They had given no thought, Loffreda said, to revenge for losing last season's European final, only to what is relevant now. So quick thinking by Goode (who scored Leicester's first try himself) and fine passing by his backs gave Seru Rabeni a try immediately after the interval, Hipkiss - who had not expected to play until Aaron Mauger's hamstring proved susceptible - reminded everyone of his qualities and Martin Castrogiovanni added an absolute showstopper, leaving Cipriani and Sackey, for once, in the shade.

Scorers: Leicester: Tries: Goode (34min), Rabeni (44), Hipkiss (56), Castrogiovanni (68). Conversions: Goode 4. Penalty goals: Goode 2 (16, 28). London Wasps: Tries: Cipriani 2 (23, 76), Sackey 2 (31, 51). Conversions: Cipriani, Walder. Scoring sequence (Leicester first): 3-0, 3-7, 6-7, 6-12, 13-12 (half-time), 20-12, 27-12, 27-17, 34-17, 34-24.

Leicester: J Murphy; T Varndell, S Rabeni, D Hipkiss, A Tuilagi; A Goode (rep: S Vesty, 77), H Ellis; B Stankovich (rep: M Ayerza, 45), G Chuter (rep: B Kayser, 73), M Castrogiovanni (rep: J White, 51-62, 72), L Deacon, B Kay, T Croft, B Herring (rep: J Crane, 49), M Corry.

London Wasps: J Lewsey; P Sackey, F Waters (rep: D Waldouck, 66), R Flutey, D Doherty (rep: D Walder, 57); D Cipriani, E Reddan (rep: M McMillan, 72); T Payne, R Ibanez (rep: J Ward, 72), P Vickery (rep: T French, 73), G Skivington, T Palmer (rep: R Birkett, 73), J Hart (rep: D Leo, 62), J Haskell, L Dallaglio.

Referee: N Owens (Wales)

Attendance: 41,018.