Leeds Carnegie Director of Rugby Stuart Lancaster said he was proud of his players efforts after seeing them lose 29-6 to Leicester at Headingley Carnegie.
The reigning Champions scored three tries in the process but there was generally parity between the sides throughout the rest of the game.
Speaking after the match Lancaster said, "We are obviously disappointed with the scoreline but there are lots of positives for us to take from the game. At this level you need every part of your game functioning well and unfortunately some areas did not perform as we would like and against sides of the quality of Leicester, they are able to exploit those opportunities.
"I thought we matched them in a lot of areas across the field and our physicality was more than a match for them. We limited their opportunities but they were very clinical when they got their chances.
"I thought the crowd was fantastic today, to get nearly 10,000 supporters is a great boost to the team and we hope we can build on the many positives today and keep moving forward," added Lancaster.