Could not have gone any worse for Harlequins; could not have gone much better for Leicester. Bath are the first team mathematically guaranteed a place in the playoffs after their home win over Newcastle, but Leicester take another big stride towards joining them. Maximum points in front of nigh-on 26,000 of their faithful sends them above Sale into second, with three rounds remaining.
Quins are not quite mathematically out of it, but realistically this is it for their season. That hideous experience in Dublin a few weeks ago seems to have knocked them sideways, which, combined with a long list of wounded first-teamers, has left them vulnerable. Worse, Marcus Smith spent most of the match hobbling on an ankle injury incurred early on, before he was forced off in the final quarter, a forlorn figure, anxious thoughts of the Lions surely not far from his mind.
