Harlequins edge Tigers in thriller to move top

Tyrone Green put Harlequins ahead as the lead changed hands seven times

Leicester:(15) 25
Tries: Liebenberg, Steward 2 Cons: Pollard 2 Pens: Pollard 2
Harlequins:(17) 29
Tries: Dombrandt, Lamb 2, Green, Porter Cons: Smith 2

Harlequins returned to the top of the Premiership as they shaded Leicester Tigers at Welford Road.

Steward and Will Porter exchanged tries before Handre Pollard's penalty put the hosts back in front.

But Lamb dived over for his second score and Quins held out to win.

A fourth successive win leapfrogged the London side into top spot above Sale, who beat Bristol, while a fourth defeat in five matches keeps Leicester in ninth.

Springboks' World Cup winner Handre Pollard kicked 10 points on his Leicester Tigers return

Having lost three of their opening four Premiership fixtures, the Tigers hoped the return of six internationals from World Cup duty would kickstart their season as England quartet Steward, Ben Youngs, Dan Cole and Ollie Chessum started alongside South Africa's World Cup winners Jasper Wiese and Pollard.

They were much improved and bossed large parts of the game, but conceded soft scores and missed chances, particularly late on as they hammered at the Quins line.

Following a contrasting opening to their campaign, the Harlequins XV was bolstered by England pair Joe Marler and Marcus Smith, and they flew out of the traps.

Premiership table

Dombrandt and Lamb powered over with close-range scores within the opening 15 minutes, both the product of patient and incisive work from the pack.

Leicester went into the match with the poorest rate of gainline success in the league, but with their big names back in harness, their freshened attack fired as they inched back into the game.

Liebenberg produced a super diving finish in the corner to add to Pollard's earlier penalty and cut the deficit with his fifth try of the season.

Two of their World Cup stars then combined to put them in front for the first time, Pollard's great pass, following a dominant Tigers scrum, giving Steward a simple finish in the right corner.

Yet Quins stole in front shortly before half-time, picking up loose ball from a sloppy midfield scrum before quick hands from Smith and Oscar Beard sent Green away for a run to the corner.

Harlequins secured a third win at Welford Road in their past five visits, having lost their previous six.

The lead changed hands once again when referee Ian Tempest accidentally bumped into Dombrandt at a Quins line-out, allowing Tigers to collect loose ball and attack at pace, with Steward finishing in the corner.

More slack defence, though, gifted the lead back to Harlequins, against the run of play, when Porter sold the dummy and ghosted around the fringes of a ruck to cross.

Tigers spurned three scoring opportunities in quick succession going into the final quarter as they piled on the pressure before Pollard - whose late penalty sank England's World Cup final dream - kicked the hosts 25-24 ahead with 14 minutes left.

It was another World Cup semi-finalist who had the final say as replacement Danny Care's quick tap penalty once again caught the Tigers napping and Lamb charged over.

Leicester: Brown; Steward, Kelly, Kata, Bassett; Pollard, Youngs; van Wyk, Clare, Cole, Henderson, Chessum, Liebenberg (capt), Rogerson, Wiese.

Replacements: Vanes, Cronin, Hurd, Carter, Ilione, Whiteley, Atkinson, Scott.

Harlequins: David; Green, Beard, Anyanwu, Lynagh; Smith, Porter; Marler, Riley, Collier, Launchbury, Hammond, Lamb, Evans, Dombrandt (capt).

Replacements: Walker, Baxter, Lewis, Herbst, Chisholm, Care, Evans, Esterhuizen.

Referee: Ian Tempest

Subscribe to the Rugby Union Daily podcastAdd rugby union alerts to your BBC Sport app

The Fab Four's rise, fall and rebirth...: Told in the band's own words with an extensive archive, the story of how The Beatles shaped musicHow was the acclaimed series, Planet Earth, filmed? Sir David Attenborough and film-makers reveal how they captured spectacular moments in nature