Danny Cipriani hobbled off in the second-half as Wasps secured a hard-fought 13-7 win over Exeter that boosts their Aviva Pemiership playoff hopes.

Wasps led 7-0 at half-time of a close contest thanks to Marcus Watson's 13th-minute try at the Ricoh Arena.

Jimmy Gopperth, who switched to fly-half once Cipriani had departed the action, stretched their lead with a penalty eight minutes into the second half.

However, with home replacement Ashley Johnson in the sin bin, Exeter got themselves on the scoreboard as England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie burrowed over from close range.

That set up a tense final 17 minutes, but Wasps held firm for the rest of the time that Johnson was off the pitch and Gopperth added a late penalty to settle home nerves.

Victory keeps Wasps third, but crucially puts breathing space between them and fourth-placed Gloucester, who are now six points back.

But the win came at a cost. Cipriani was forced to depart early in the second period with a suspected Achilles issue, while try-scorer Watson, Jack Willis and Alex Rieder also left the field with knocks -- the latter a serious-looking knee injury just moments after coming on.