Sale director of rugby Philippe Saint Andre believes his side deserved today's last-gasp 14-11 win at Leicester that secured a Guinness Premiership double over the champions.

Sebastien Chabal went over in the last minute to wipe out the Tigers' 11-9 lead, condemning them to back-to-back defeats and helping Gloucester stay in charge at the top.

Leicester looked to have snatched victory from a poor game at Welford Road when Jordan Crane was driven over in the 71st minute after Luke McAlister's hat-trick of penalties had put the Sharks 9-6 ahead at the break.

Chabal had the final word and Saint Andre said: ''We were in control of the game and came close to the line three or four times.

''It's never easy to win here. We knew it would be tough, but we came here with confidence and the players didn't panic when Leicester scored late in the game.

''We came back with a fantastic try and I'm very pleased for the players. It's great to see them smiling after a game like this.''

Saint Andre sensed the chance for a rare victory at Welford Road in the absence of Leicester props Martin Castrogiovanni and Julian White, both of whom were on international duty.

''Our scrum was fantastic,'' he said. ''And we played with more patience than last week.''

Leicester head coach Marcelo Loffreda claimed his side missed the presence of White and Castrogiovanni and said his players only had themselves to blame for their second home defeat of the season.

He said: ''We were very close to the win, but we made some silly mistakes and we paid the price.

''These games are so tough that you have to take control and we never had control of the game.

''We didn't find touch in the final few minutes and we were not so strong in the scrum because we had lost players.

''There was a lot of pressure and not much space out there.''

Leicester are at home again next Saturday against Leeds and Loffreda said: ''We will expect a better performance then.''