Tigers topple Quins, Exiles win

Leicester toppled Harlequins in Saturday's Premiership programme, with Bath, Sale and London Irish also racking up victories.

Leicester made a devastating statement of intent ahead of the play-offs by coming from 13 points down to beat current leaders Harlequins 43-33.

The victory sees the Tigers leapfrog Saracens back into second place, with a win against Bath in two weeks' time guaranteeing a home semi-final although they might be without England flanker Tom Croft, who went off injured in the first half at the Twickenham Stoop.

In an action-packed first half, Leicester drew first blood through Thomas Waldrom's try, only for Harlequins to race into a 23-10 advantage courtesy of two tries from Ugo Monye and Nick Easter. But Leicester ensured the game remained in the balance at half-time as Steve Mafi went over to ensure they were only three points behind.

While George Lowe's try restored Quins' advantage, Leicester went through the gears in the second half as a try from Alesana Tuilagi and Waldrom's second brought up the bonus point before Toby Flood, who finished with 23 points, rounded off the win with a late penalty.

An extraordinary try-saving tackle by wing Tom Varndell, cutting down Sam Vesty as he was waving to the crowd in premature celebration, may yet save Wasps from relegation.

It means that when Newcastle meet Wasps in a do-or-die match on May 5 they must deny their opponents a bonus point and win by at least 24 points to send the Wycombe side into the Championship.

It was a bizarre ending to a remarkable second half turnaround as Bath ran in tries through Lee Mears, Stephen Donald and Nick Abendanon to win 17-12 after trailing 9-0 at the break.

But Nicky Robinson landed his fourth penalty five minutes from time to earn the losing bonus point which could prove so crucial.

There was still time for Vesty's grandstanding and Varndell's crucial intervention, which needed a TV match official ruling.

It also cost Bath a bonus point, making their outside chance of a Heineken Cup spot even more improbable.

London Irish ended a seven-match losing streak against an out-of-sorts Worcester as Exiles full-back Tom Homer was the hero with 15 points in a 25-16 win.

There was to be no fairytale farewell at Sixways for departing favourites Marcel Garvey, Miles Benjamin, Kai Horstmann and Dale Rasmussen as Worcester produced one of their worst performances of the season, as if they were already content with having secured their Premiership status for next season.

It was not until the final quarter that they showed any real fight, with late tries from Garvey and Benjamin giving some solace to their supporters. For most of the match Irish were comfortably the better, with impressive performances from Bryn Evans and Ofisa Treviranus.

Sale Sharks put one foot in next season's Heineken Cup by posting their 10th Premiership victory of the season at Gloucester, who lost 24-19.

Both sides needed to win the crucial match at Kingsholm to stand any chance of finishing sixth in the Premiership and, with it, land a lucrative Heineken Cup spot for next term.

But two tries from Sale full-back Rob Miller - along with 14 points from the boot of fly-half Nick Macleod - was enough for them to see off Gloucester, whose points came through a try from wing Charlie Sharples and four penalties and a conversion from number 10 Freddie Burns.