Rugby Union: Leicester 32 - 17 Harlequins

Leicester were last week given notice of Martin Johnson's retirement and they had an earlier than expected taste of what life will be like without their captain and talisman when he pulled out on the morning of this top-against-bottom clash with a bad back.

If the 80 minutes offered a glimpse of things to come, the Tigers' lair will not be as uninviting to visitors when the grizzled features of English rugby's warrior chief are confined to the sidelines. The scoreline was hard on an enterprising and organised Quins, who belied their lowly status from the first minute when they took advantage of a poor Leicester lineout to take a 7-0 lead.

Had Jeremy Staunton matched Andy Goode's goal-kicking prowess and the Leicester outside-half's ability to relieve pressure with booming touchfinders, his side would have been in sight of victory.

Quins disrupted the Leicester forwards, bossing the lineout through the impressive Simon Maling and doing better than expected in the tight. But they were let down at the breakdown, where they committed numerous unforced errors.

Leicester's head coach John Wells admitted that Johnson's absence had been a factor. "Johnno called me early in the morning to say his back was playing up and then I had a call from Ben Kay [Leicester's other second-row] saying he was sick. I told them to get here at 1pm because one of them had to play.

"I did not want to risk Johnno because we will need him during the Six Nations, and while we missed his direction and leadership we had no chance to prepare for his absence as he pulled out so late."

Kay, expected to be recalled by England against Wales on Saturday, struggled at the start but was one of the game's pivotal figures in the final quarter. The Tigers were also without another of their current internationals, the flanker Lewis Moody, who strained a hamstring last week but should be fit for Cardiff. "England will have to go easy on him in training," said Wells.

Goode, called up to the extended international squad this month, was arguably the difference between the two sides on Saturday, and not only because he landed all his eight goal-kicks despite a swirling wind.

Quins would have gone 20-9 up in the first half had Staunton kicked a 40-yard penalty from almost in front of the posts shortly after the wing Ugo Monye's stunningly worked try from a lineout. Goode's response, after Geordan Murphy launched a counter-attack, was to place a weighted kick to the corner where Kay gathered and handed the scoring pass to Austin Healey.

Quins defended strongly in the second half and it took the introduction of Julian White, Daryl Gibson and Henry Tuilagi on the hour to deny them a bonus point, with Tuilagi's late try painting a flattering picture for Leicester.

Leicester: Murphy; Holtby, Lloyd, Smith, Healey (Gibson, 58); Goode, Ellis; Rowntree (capt; White, 58), Chuter, Morris, L Deacon, Kay, W Johnson, Back, B Deacon (H Tuilagi, 53).

Tries: Healey, Tuilagi. Cons: Goode 2. Pens: Goode 6.

Harlequins: Duffy (Williams, 62); Keogh, James, Deane, Monye; Staunton, So'oialo; Jones, Tiatia, Dawson (Worsley, 62), Winters (Miall, 62), Maling, Easter, Sheriff, Diprose (capt).

Tries: Dawson, Monye. Cons: Staunton 2. Pen: Staunton.

Sin-bin: Easter, 50.

Referee: R Maybank (Kent).

Attendance: 16,850.