LONDON Irish and Wasps shared 80 points in a final-day thriller at Madejski Stadium.

England star James Haskell looked to have scored a late winning try for the visitors only for Andy Short to reply for Irish soon after to tier the scores.

Sadly, Shane Geraghty’s conversion to win the match at the death drifted wide, though both sets of fans had been treated to a sensational match.

While the draw saw Wasps guarantee their place in the European Champions Cup next season, Exiles will hope their performance on Saturday could prove to be a springboard for next season when new coach Tom Coventry takes over the reins.

Interim head coach Glenn Delaney said: “If the pressure was off us we wouldn’t have stayed in touch.

“We’re better when we are under a bit of pressure and we’ve got a bit of bite to us.

“This team has developed a belief to win and we’ve seen that time and time again.”

He added: “It was just a hair’s breadth of a kick denying us a five-point bonus-point win over Wasps who have been outstanding.

“Wasps are a quality side, there’s a reason why they are a top-six team, it’s because they are good at dealing with pressure.

“But we had the confidence and the desire to come back and to keep coming back at them.”

A relieved Young admitted: “We’ve looked a tired team the last month, but to get a draw I’m happy. We were hanging on by our toenails at some points.”

A thrilling afternoon’s rugby saw both Irish and Wasps run in five tries to claim a bonus point apiece.

Exiles appeared to have the early initiative as they took a 22-18 lead into the interval as Andrew Fenby, Alex Lewington and Chris Noakes all crossed the whitewash, with Guy Thompson and Sailosi Tagicakibau responding for Dai Young’s visitors.

But a second try from former Exiles favourite Tagicakibau plus the trusty boot of Andy Goode, making his final Wasps appearance ahead of his summer move to Irish, put Young’s men ahead.

Irish, though, hit back with a James Short touchdown only for Haskell to cross once more for what looked to be the match-winning Wasps score.

However, there was one more twist to come as Geragthy’s sublime chip allowed Andy Short to collect and score and tie the game at 40-40.

Unfortunately, Geragthy’s conversion attempt that would have secured a sensational victory for Irish missed the target and it finished in a draw.

Nevertheless, Delaney believes Geraghty, who finished with 15 points on his 150th Irish appearance, has a chance of making the England’s World Cup squad, stating: “Shane has had a great season.

“He’s attended England training camps during the Six Nations. Form is currency and in a World Cup year you want your best players. I know it’s a competitive position but they are talking about him.”

The draw meant London Irish finished the Aviva Premiership campaign in 10th place.

New head coach Coventry is due to arrive from New Zealand in July following the conclusion of this year’s World Cup. He will be joined by assistant coaches Grant Doorey and Craig Laidlaw, with Delaney moving to head of operations.

London Irish: Fenby; Lewington, Griffin, Geraghty (c), Short; Noakes, Allison; Court, Paice, Palframan; Leo, Sinclair, Narraway, Cowan, Guest.

Replacements: Stevens, Smallbone, Aulika, Curry, Treviranus, Watson, Sheridan, Short.

Wasps: Masi; Wade, Daly, Leiua, Tagicakibau; Goode, Davies; Mullan, Lindsay, Cittadini, Launchbury, Gaskell, Johnson, Haskell (c), Thompson.

Replacements: McIntyre, Taylor, Myall, Jones, Young, Weepu, Lozowski, Miller.

Referee: JP Doyle.

Attendance: 9,295.