Others can give up their customary habits for Lent if they wish but Leicester frown on that sort of weak-willed behaviour. Winning is what keeps the blood pumping through their veins and one more victory at home to Newcastle this Saturday should ensure a hat-trick of Zurich Premiership titles is safely gathered in long before Easter.

Only the distant Wasps can catch them now and that would rely on a dramatic relaxation of the steel-trap mentality which guides Leicester through sticky afternoons like this one.

The villain, for once, was Northampton's England scrumhalf Matt Dawson who sliced two eminently kickable penalties wide of the right upright in the last five minutes of normal time and was also at the centre of incidents which forced Leicester's most creative backs Geordan Murphy and Pat Howard to leave the field, in Murphy's case permanently.

The Irish wing felt his extremely painful back was the result of a naughty knee-drop, although Howard's was simply a nasty collision. The Australian did well to resume, but did not appear to be thinking rationally when he suggested clubs should wash any dirty disciplinary linen in private.

Having made such a fuss when Saracens cited Martin Johnson over injuries to their outhalf Duncan McRae, Leicester would be open to charges of double-standards if study of the video persuades them Dawson had a case to answer. The case for an independent citing system grows stronger by the day.

"It's difficult when you're top of the tree to start citing people and we've never done that," said Dean Richards, Leicester's director of rugby. "Until it's done independently, there will be the odd citing but no consistency."

Turning the other cheek, though, might have been harder if the title race had been closer, had Tim Stimpson's four penalties not rewarded his side's territorial advantage or had Murphy been more seriously hurt.

The Scottish Rugby Union have apologised for the error which saw the Scotland Premiership Division One Championship trophy presented to Hawick at Mansfield Park last night when there remains a possibility that Melrose could pip them for the title. Hawick lead the table on 65 points with two games to play while Melrose are in third place on 50 points with three games to play.

NORTHAMPTON: Beal; Martin, Bateman, Leslie, Cohen; Brooks, Dawson; Pagel, Brotherstone (Richmond, 60), Stewart, Brouzet, Newman (Phillips, 62), Blowers , Pountney, Lam (capt).

LEICESTER: Murphy (Gelderbloom,. h-t); Stanley, Lloyd, Howard, Stimpson; Goode, Healey; Rowntree, West (Cockerill, 73), Garforth, M Johnson (capt), Kay, W Johnson (Gustard, 69), Moody, Corry.

Referee: R Goodliffe (Sheffield).