Former England captain Chris Robshaw’s 300th and final Harlequins appearance ended on a high as he led his side to a thrilling bonus-point win at Leicester.

Alex Dombrandt ran from inside his own half after an interception to put Quins ahead and Joe Marchant went over in the corner to earn an interval lead.

Nemani Nadolo and Matt Scott crossed for a spirited Tigers, but Marchant and James Lang tries ensured an away win.

With Quins already certain to finish outside the play-offs and Leicester guaranteed to end another dismal season in 11th place, with only Saracens’ off-field misdemeanours saving them from relegation, the final game of the season had little at stake.

A Tigers side showing 13 changes from the one brushed aside 40-3 by Bristol in midweek showed an understandable lack of cohesion in keeping with a side that won just six Premiership matches all season.

Quins, who themselves made 10 changes from their defeat against Wasps, were a little more convincing and managed to hang on for a 10th victory in 22 league games this season.

Leicester director of rugby Geordan Murphy:

“We wanted to finish the season on a high. We didn’t play very well in the first half and found ourselves down and Harlequins are a very strong defence and stifled what we tried to create.

“You can’t shy away from the fact that this has been a really disappointing season for numerous reasons. We are on the start of our journey and we have to be better. I live in the county of Leicestershire and I see fans on a daily basis. It means so much to everyone.

“It is a very big club and the supporter base is really important to us. The players understand that. We want to build a team that will make those supporters proud.”

Harlequins boss Paul Gustard:

“Chris deserves all the accolades he gets. To win a Grand Slam, the first Six Nations title he has ever won, and to play 300 games for Harlequins, it is just an incredible achievement.

“The week itself, emotionally he felt it and today, when he first jogged onto the field, he could feel a heavy kind of burden as it was his last game. Chris is an unbelievable professional, takes things seriously when he plays and enjoys the game with a smile on his face.”

“We had the sixth amount of wins, not counting Saracens of course, but we are where we are. We have evened out to where we should be because we haven’t played well enough.”

Leicester: Steward; Van Wyk, Murimurivalu, Scott; Nadolo; Ford, Youngs; Genge, Youngs (c), Cole, Wells, Green, Wallace, Reffell, Liebenberg

Replacements: Clare, Bower, Leatigaga, Enever, Smith, Van Poortvliet, Henry, Taute

Harlequins: Morris; Marchant, Lang, Esterhuizen, Earle; Herron, Care; Els, Head, Kerrod, Lamb, Young, Robshaw (c), Evans, Dombrandt

Replacements: Musk, Thomas, Louw, Cavubati, Lawday, Landajo, Tapuai, Lynagh