Leeds director of rugby Phil Davies believes the Tykes' 24-6 victory over Bristol at Headingley yesterday was just reward for their hard work over the last few weeks.

Davies' men took another massive step towards ensuring their Zurich Premiership status by clinching four priceless points at the expense of the hapless Shoguns.

The result has lifted Leeds five points clear of bottom-place Harlequins, whose own top-flight status now hangs in the balance.

And while the commitment and determination of the Yorkshire outfit on the pitch is clear to see, it is the Tykes' efforts off it that has really pleased Davies.

"Every game is important and every win more so," said Davies. "I've been delighted with the way the players have applied themselves recently.

"We've done a lot of work over the past 10 to 12 weeks, and you are starting to see that come to fruition now. Hopefully we've now got the platform to move forward.

"We've done a lot of soul searching over the last few weeks. There has been a lot going on behind the scenes and we're starting to play with confidence. The players deserve a lot of credit for that."

Leeds were pre-season favourites for relegation but the nature of yesterday's performance, combined with Harlequins' ailing fortunes, has shown the scrap for survival is no foregone conclusion.

But Davies is refusing to consider his side's future too closely, instead preferring to look ahead only as far as the next match.

"We've got just seven games left and we've got to take each one as it comes," he said. "That's a boring old cliche but that's the way it is.

"We're at Northampton next week and they are a tremendous side. They had a great performance against Newcastle on Saturday night. We've just got to go out there and perform again. It's as simple as that. In the bigger picture, it's important to create a gap between Harlequins and ourselves. But we need to focus on our performance - not on how other clubs do.

"We'll try and keep our own house in order and keep moving forward. This is our 15th Premiership game and we're learning all the time."

Leeds scored tries through Craig Emmerson and Dan Scarbrough with Braam van Straaten kicking 14 points, but the Shoguns' abject performance also helped ensure their own downfall.

They were out-gunned up front, where they could not match the Tykes' determined forward effort and they offered little in attack, leaving head coach Dean Ryan searching for answers.

"If I knew why we lose games like this my job would be a lot easier," he said. "We've been in this situation two or three times before.

"We've played outstanding rugby in a situation where if we win we go right into the top half of the league, and each time we've lost. And not only lost it, but lost it in quite a lame manner.

"It's not simple things that are going wrong. We've got to look at ourselves as a side, and look at how much we care about making Bristol successful.

"We must find some stimulus which makes that happen. It's a mystery to me as to what fires this team up.

"I would have thought this was an important game for us to win. I felt strongly about it but we didn't deliver."