Delighted coach Dean Richards believes Leicester proved they are firing on all cylinders again with an eight-try Heineken Cup battering of Beziers today.

The holders boosted their chances of home advantage in the quarter-finals as they consolidated their lead of Pool One with a 53-10 victory to complete the double over the French side.

"As I said at the start of the season we had an injury crisis in the backs but now we have got players like Geordan Murphy, Austin Healey and Leon Lloyd back," said Richards.

"The backs are starting to fire again and I was very pleased with the performance. It was a very difficult game in France last weekend but we showed that we did our homework.

"If you get to the quarter-finals it does not matter who you get there because it is going to be a difficult game.

"But history shows that very few away sides win so it would be an advantage to be at home for the quarter-final stage."

Richards admitted the players had been determined to atone for their last appearance at their Welford Road ground when they saw a 57-match unbeaten record in the league ended by Northampton.

"We had one off day in five years really, though it was a hell of a one-off," he added. "It would be nice to think we won't get another one for another five years.

"The boys felt they wanted to apologise for that, not just to themselves but to the spectators."

Beziers coach Eric Piazza said: "It was a very difficult game for us especially after the first 15 minutes when Leicester moved the ball all over the pitch.

"Although we lost at home last week we felt we had a chance to get a better result but Leicester showed that they wanted to play and deserved the win. They made it very hard for us."