Steve Borthwick says the performance against Harlequins in Saturday showed the resilience of his Leicester Tigers squad as well as the pride of the players in representing the club.

Tigers led 29-12 at half-time after scoring four tries in the opening 40 minutes and surviving a spell with only 13 men on the field, but then had to defend with a lead of just six points against a top-four team who had won their last two games with late scores.

“I’m pleased with the win and pleased with the way we started, though we’re disappointed with the second half,” said head coach Borthwick after the final whistle of a 35-29 win which featured tries by Ellis Genge (2), Mat Scott and Tim Youngs.

“There were plenty of positives in that first half, and the players also showed enormous resilience and toughness.

“What I saw and what our supporters saw was a group of men that really care about this team and this club. They have worked really hard and are proud to play for Leicester Tigers. We’ve seen they are together as a group.

“There’s disappointment in the dressing room that we allowed it to get into that position at the end but they never stopped fighting and that is a great attribute in this group.

“I’m pleased for the players. It was a tight game against very good opposition. In some areas we stepped forwarded and we’ll also look at the areas where we need to improve and attend to that. We’ll get back on the training field on Monday to work on them.”

Tigers moved up to sixth place on 44 points with three games in Round 19 still to come after being rescheduled as midweek fixtures on Monday and Tuesday evening.