Newport Wasps were the unsuspecting victims of a Viking invasion and, as a contest, the Premier League meeting at sun-soaked Hayley Stadium yesterday afternoon was all over after three heats.

Hull Vikings roared to maximum spoils and opened a 15-3 advantage, but despite the misery heaped upon them the Wasps fought back and lost only one of the last five heats. A little pride was restored.

Neil Street, Wasps team manager, said: "It's unusual for that to happen, maybe the visitors winning the second heat (for reserves) but not all three.

"Hull have a good team, a hell of a side, but I think we could have handled them with our original team."

But not even that minor success, at a stage when the result was never in doubt, could hide the fact that Wasps suffered a 20-point humiliation in front of their own fans, some of whom were questioning their future support.

And even that margin flattered the Wasps because they had two tactical rides - worth double points - and first stand-in skipper Mads Korneliussen obliged in heat six, followed by guest rider Seemond Stephens in heat 11.

Stephens came into the team for the absent skipper, Craig Watson, and duly obliged with the top score, 13 from five rides, although he did fail to score in the final heat of the embarrassingly one-sided meeting.

However, Korneliussen had a paid 13 (12+1) from the same number of rides, and the pair provided Wasps with their only maximum in heat 13, foiling Vikings captain Paul Thorp and Garry Stead.

And it was good to see Czech Republic rider Pavel Ondrasik back in action after recovering from shoulder and hand injuries, scoring 10 points and getting better with each ride. He started off with a third in heat three, and had two second places before winning heat 12 and then gained his third second position of the meeting.

On the other side of the coin, Carl Wilkinson had a nightmare meeting, failing to get a point from five rides, and spent as much time hitting the dusty track as he did in the saddle.

Vikings chalked up six maximum heat wins - a remarkable feat - and they collected 10 bonus points. Only one rider out of the seven, reserve Emiliano Sanchez, failed to get a bonus, but he had eight points from four rides.

Wasps: Mads Korneliussen 12+1 (5), Carl Wilkinson 0 (5), Pavel Ondrasik 10 (5), Tony Atkin (rider replacement), Seemond Stephens 13 (5), Luke Priest 2+1 (6), Karl Mason 1 (4).

Vikings: Paul Thorp 7+1 (4), Ross Brady 7+2 (4), Magnus Karlsson 12+2 (5), Emil Kramer 12+1 (5), Garry Stead 7+1 (4), Joel Parsons 5+3 (4), Emiliano Sanchez 8 (4).