Leicester Tigers' present side are among the greats – Richard Cockerill

Leicester Tigers are once again the pride of the country after winning a 10th English league title.

Director of rugby Richard Cockerill heaped praise on those players who have written their own chapter in the club's rich history.

Tries from Niall Morris, Graham Kitchener, Manu Tuilagi and Niki Goneva earned Tigers a thrilling 37-17 win over rivals Northampton Saints in front of a sold-out Twickenham crowd of nearly 82,000.

And Cockerill believes the players who earned that win have "no idea how good they are".

"We talk about yesteryear and all of those great players who have worn the shirt here – and so we should because that is important – but these guys are part of that now," said Cockerill.

"They are part of the history at this club because they have won the Premiership. This is one of the biggest clubs in the world and they are the club, along with the supporters.

"Sometimes, these players don't realise just how good they are.

"Winning titles doesn't just magically happen. Players have to work hard to achieve that and that was the same for me and people like Dean Richards and Peter Wheeler going back through the years.

"This team are champions of England and they have earned the right to be called that.

"I am pleased for them because the expectation here is so big that it weighs heavily on everybody's minds.

"It is great to be able to match that expectation because it is a very tough ask when you are expected to be champions every year."

On a dramatic afternoon, Leicester lost skipper Toby Flood to concussion after just 23 minutes and Saints had their skipper Dylan Hartley sent off on the stroke of half-time for calling referee Wayne Barnes a "cheat".

Hartley was suspended for 11 weeks yesterday meaning his red card has ended hopes of playing for the British & Irish Lions this summer.

Leicester Tigers' six British & Irish Lions were all passed fit to fly out with the squad later today, while lock Ed Slater will join up with the England squad and head to Argentina later this week.