Leicester seize Prem top spot

Leicester Tigers are top of the Guinness Premiership after beating Bristol 43-15.

Leicester have claimed top spot in the Guinness Premiership from Bristol in emphatic style, the Tigers running in six tries on their way to a 43-15 victory against their rivals.

The win represents Leicester's fifth in sixth games in all competitions, and places them ahead of Bristol on points difference.

And it was richly-deserved, the home side appearing fired-up and, as a consequence, better equipped to deal with the misty conditions that enveloped Welford Road.

However both teams struggled early on, with Bristol coming closest to troubling the scoreboard in a scrappy opening quarter.

But they lost a man after 10 minutes when Mariano Sambucetti was sin-binned for stamping on Louis Deacon.

Leicester opened the scoring when Ian Humphreys converted a penalty five minutes later, with Bristol's Jason Strange replying in kind shortly afterwards.

But the home side moved up a gear on 23 minutes, with Humphreys launching a neat chip over the top whilst under pressure near the left-hand touchline.

Shane Jennings proved quickest to the ball, before racing unopposed to touch down between the Bristol posts.

Humphreys converted, with the home side then going further ahead after a series of scrums from five metres out allowed the fly-half to score.

The Tigers continued to press forward with their third try coming deep in first-half injury time after a drive pushed Jordan Crane over.

Humphreys converted, with Leicester enjoying a 22-3 lead at the interval.

With Humphreys taken off at half-time to rest the hamstring strain that had caused him to miss Leicester's two previous games, replacement Paul Burke immediately proved influential.

His grubber kick was collected by Tom Varndell, the winger then sprinting down the line to score a try converted by Burke.

After taking a pass from Sam Vesty, Dan Hipkiss (pictured) continued the one-way traffic with a try five minutes later.

Burke converted and did again when Deacon scored from close range two minutes short of the hour.

Bristol's David Lemi then scored two tries in the 64th and 75th minute, but Leicester's rampant earlier performance had proved more than sufficient for victory.