Varndell treble sinks Quins

Tom Varndell all but secured his place in the England squad for the Six Nations with a hat-trick in the 42-13 rout over Harlequins.

The Leicester wing showed his full range of skills and should now be rewarded with a place in Brian Ashton's 32-man squad when it is announced on Wednesday.

And the highly-rated Tom Croft did his chances no harm as he grabbed two tries while Andy Goode could still force his way into the reckoning with a polished display.

It was the Goode-Varndell combination that set the Tigers on their way to their comprehensive victory after 32 minutes.

Up to that point, Harlequins had been enjoying the best of the tussle - with Chris Malone slotting over two penalties to give them a 6-0 lead after 16 minutes.

Goode slotted over a 21st-minute penalty to cut the deficit to three points before his kick cut up the Quins backline.

Fooling the defence by looking and shaping to kick to the left, Goode slotted the ball straight ahead over the on-rushing defence straight into the hands of Varndell, who finished off between the posts.

Goode, who faces a fight with the likes of Jonny Wilkinson, Charlie Hodgson, Toby Flood, Danny Cipriani and Ryan Lamb for the England No.10 jersey, converted to see Leicester enter the break 10-6 in front.

That lead was extended to 13-6 36 seconds after the restart when Geordan Murphy slotted over a 40m drop goal after Malone had missed his kick to touch.

Mountain

A second Goode penalty three minutes later left Quins with a mountain to climb - and that mountain became Everest by 53 minutes after a double whammy.

First Croft crossed in the corner after Leicester countered from a poor clearance by Andy Gomarsall.

Then straight from the restart Malone kicked straight to Varndell, who fended off De Wet Barry and sprinted 60m to score.

Goode converted the latter to leave the Tigers 28-6 in front.

Quins refused to give up, with Barry and Brown both going close, while the some side enjoyed the lion's share of possession.

However the Leicester defence remained watertight and it was the visitors who added to their tally.

Again it was a classy chip from Goode - this time Croft leapt above Barry to take the catch before crossing for the try. Goode converted.

Varndell completed his hat-trick on 70 minutes as the Quins defence dropped off their tackles. Goode converted to take his personal tally to 14 points.

Dave Strettle, a rival to Varndell for a place in the England squad, finally got Quins some consolation with a try on 77 minutes. Simon Keogh added the extras.