Matt O’Connor had words of praise for the composure of the Leicester Tigers team in gaining a bonus-point win at Sale Sharks on Saturday.

Although deeply disappointed not to make the semi-finals, the 35-13 victory did ensure Champions Cup again for the Tigers after a fifth-placed finish, level on points with Newcastle Falcons in fourth.

“I thought the boys played really well,” said head coach O’Connor.

“We were really good in the first half defensively, we won the arm wrestle and the big moments there, and we were very comfortable with where we were. And the composure in the second half was really good, we stuck to it and were able to take our chances and build the score.

“This is a great group of players, they work really hard, they knew what they had to do to make sure we are playing in the Champions Cup and we had to deliver that today.”

Jonah Holmes took his try tally for the season into double figures with two scores, while Mike Williams and George Ford grabbed their first tries of the season as Tigers ended on a winning note.

“For a bloke who has not played a lot of games back to back, Jonah has been fantastic for us,” said O’Connor.

“It was disappointing for him that, just when he was building some momentum this season, he had a groin strain before Christmas and then hamstring at Worcester, or he would have played a lot more rugby.”