English Premiership:Leicester coach Marcelo Loffreda insists Tom Varndell has all the qualities required to become an England regular after his hat-trick helped the Tigers to a 42-13 Guinness Premiership win over Harlequins yesterday.
After a tight first half, Leicester stormed to victory, their versatile flanker Tom Croft capping another impressive effort with two tries.
England head coach Brian Ashton will name his squad for the Six Nations on Wednesday and Varndell and Croft could feature heavily in the selection discussions.
"Tom was very good. He was man of the match today and he has everything he needs to be a top player in his position," said Loffreda.
"Croft is very good," added the Argentinian. "He has got better and better. He is really good."
Leicester had been unconvincing in the first 40 minutes but held a 10-6 half-time lead after Varndell latched onto Andy Goode's chip to score under the posts.
The Tigers then destroyed Harlequins after the break, racing clear with 18 points in 13 minutes, including a long-range drop-goal from Ireland's Geordan Murphy.
Sale Sharks suffered their first Premiership defeat for almost three months after producing a listless display at the Madejski Stadium.
The Sharks proved rudderless without their injured outhalf Charlie Hodgson and were generally outplayed.
The Exiles' attacking flair brought tries for wing Sailosi Tagicakibau, centre Gonzalo Tiesi and fullback Delon Armitage.
It proved only the Exiles' fourth league win this term, but they were outstanding value for a victory that rewarded their high-tempo game.
Sale simply did not function with Hodgson watching, rather than playing, and four Luke McAlister penalties were probably more than they deserved.
Former Sale star Jason Robinson has won the Rugby Union Writers' Club prestigious Pat Marshall Award.
Robinson (33), a double World Cup finalist, retired from the game last month after a glittering career in league and union.
He scored 28 tries in 51 Tests for England, and toured Australia (2001) and New Zealand (2005) with the British and Irish Lions.
He becomes the award's first English winner since Martin Johnson in 2003/04, while the recipient last season was Robinson's ex-Sale colleague Jason White.
