Following Worcester's victory over Sale Sharks at Edgleley Park on Friday night, Leeds Carnegie needed to put in a big performance against a Leicester side boosted by the return of their injured internationals Alesana Tuilagi and Harry Ellis.  And the visitors could not have got off to a better start.  After winning the ball from kick off Leeds forced their way up the park, with Tuilagi making some big hits before feeding the ball to Fosi Pala'amo who silenced the Welford Road crowd by powering his way over in the first minute.  Alberto Di Bernardo then slotted over the conversion to give Leeds a 7-0 lead.
Former Leeds loan star Ian Humphreys had the best chance for the visitors on 11 minutes, weaving his way through a number of Leeds players, but good defence from the Carnegie men prevented the Irish man from going over.
Di Bernardo then increased Leicester's lead on 15 minutes with a penalty in front of the posts and then in the 23rd minute he extended the lead with a drop goal.
Leicester hit back soon after to calm the nerves of the home fans and it was former Leeds player Jordan Crane who powered his way over for the try from a five metre scrum.
Leeds made a promising move on 30 minutes, however the chance came to nothing when an ambitious Jonny Hepworth pass was intercepted by winger Tom Varndell who showed his fantastic speed to sprint from his own 22 to go over for Leicester's second try.  Humphreys' conversion however hit the posts meaning Leeds still had a narrow 13-12 lead.  Before half time Humphreys ensured Leicester would go into the interval ahead with a penalty in front of the posts and the before the final whistle Leeds were dealt a further blow when Apo Satala was shown a yellow card for a high tackle on Tom Varndell.
Leicester started the second half much stronger than they had in the first and on 7 minutes they stretched their lead when they were awarded a penalty try after Leeds' scrum collapsed after immense pressure.  Humphreys this time successfully added the conversion to give Leicester a 22-13 lead.
Di Bernardo then grabbed 3 more points for the visitors to keep them within distance of the Tigers but on 53 minutes Johne Murphy dived in at the corner to increase Leicester's lead to ensure they kept up the pressure at the top of the table with a try bonus point.  Humphreys missed the conversion but he made up for this on 73 minutes with a great try that saw him evade six defenders to go over under the posts.  The fly half then added the conversion to put the home side 31-16 in front.  Varndell then looked like he was going to grab his second try with 5 minutes remaining, but good defending from Leeds forced the winger into touch before he could get the ball down.
To their credit Leeds never gave in though and they were rewarded for their efforts with a minute to go when Jonny Hepworth dummied and ran his way over in the corner.  The try though proved to be mere consolation as the Yorkshire side were left with not even a losing bonus point from the game, losing 34-21 despite a much improved performance from Leeds Carnegie.
Leicester Tigers: 15. Murphy, 14. Varndell, 13. Hipkiss, 12. Smith, 11. J Murphy, 10. Humphries, 9. F Murphy, 1. Stankovich, 2. Davies, 3. White, 4 Deacon, 5. Croft, 6. B Deacon, 7. Herring, 8. Crane. Replacements: Kayser, Castrogiovanni, 18. Corry, 19. Pienaar, 20. Ellis, 21. Goode, 22. Tuilagi
Leeds Carnegie: 15. Hinton, 14. Holtby, 13. Hepworth, 12. Tuilagi, 11. Satala, 10. Di Benardo, 9. , Bedford, 1. MacDonald. 2. MacDonald, 3. Pala'amo, 4. Lund, 5. Bouza, 6. Myall, 7. Fourie, 8. Balding. Replacements: 16. Hopcroft, 17. Ma'asi, 18, Paul, 19. Lock, 20, Brooks, 21. Blackett, 22. Vickerman
Leicester Tigers: 15. Murphy, 14. Varndell, 13. Hipkiss, 12. Smith, 11. J Murphy, 10. Humphries, 9. F Murphy, 1. Stankovich, 2. Davies, 3. White, 4 Deacon, 5. Croft, 6. B Deacon, 7. Herring, 8. Crane. Replacements: Kayser, Castrogiovanni, 18. Corry, 19. Pienaar, 20. Ellis, 21. Goode, 22. Tuilagi
Leeds Carnegie: 15. Hinton, 14. Holtby, 13. Hepworth, 12. Tuilagi, 11. Satala, 10. Di Benardo, 9. , Bedford, 1. MacDonald. 2. MacDonald, 3. Pala'amo, 4. Lund, 5. Bouza, 6. Myall, 7. Fourie, 8. Balding. Replacements: 16. Hopcroft, 17. Ma'asi, 18, Paul, 19. Lock, 20, Brooks, 21. Blackett, 22. Vickerman