Leicester Tigers assistant coach Matt O'Connor described Saturday's bonus-point 39-6 win over Leeds as "massive" for the club.

With Tigers going into the game in fifth place and facing big guns Wasps twice and Saracens in three of their next four Guinness Premiership games, O'Connor said a five-point haul from a home game with the league's bottom side was vital.

It was a result which looked unlikely at half-time as Neil Back's Leeds side frustrated Leicester at every turn and the teams went into the break at 6-6.

But five second-half tries in the space of 30 minutes from Anthony Allen, Brett Deacon, Toby Flood, Lewis Moody and a penalty try showed Tigers' class and earned them a win which put them back into the top four.

"It was a massively important bonus point for us," said O'Connor, who was speaking in the post-match press conference because of head coach Richard Cockerill's four-week match-day ban.

"If you are at home, you have to try to get the points when you can.

"It was really pleasing that we played with that intensity from the start of the second half, kicked well and got good results.

"We played quite well in the first half, but we were inaccurate in certain areas.

"We had lack of numbers at the breakdown and made some errors which did us no favours.

"We also blew a few chances, but they defended very well. We had to be patient and keep doing what we were doing.

"The boys were confident in the dressing room and we believed it was only a matter of time before we got our reward in the second half.

"We knew we had to keep doing what we were doing, only better. As a result, the tries came and they dropped their heads a bit."

Tigers suffered a scare when England flanker Tom Croft limped off and had to be helped from the field after a "bang on the knee".

But O'Connor said the club's medical staff believed Croft would be "okay to play next week".

He went on to pay tribute to a Tigers trio who played a huge part in the win. "Lewis Moody was awesome, Toby Flood is a world-class fly-half and Lote Tuqiri will be involved more and more now,'' he said.

"Lewis' enthusiasm and work-rate was enormous, while Floody played really well and brings certain different things to the table. He is over his injury and can just concentrate on playing

"Lote is over the frostbite now! He had not played for three months before arriving here and it was going to take a little time for him to settle.

"The more accustomed he becomes to his team-mates and the more accustomed they become with him, will see him get better and better."