England fly-half Toby Flood scored 23 points as Leicester cemented their position on top of Heineken Cup Pool Three with a bonus-point 38-27 victory over Perpignan.

Flood touched down the first of four Leicester tries before centre Aaron Mauger, number eight Jordan Crane and winger Matt Smith built on a ferocious scrummaging display to secure maximum spoils at Welford Road.

Perpignan, who lie third in the French Top 14, kept themselves in touch with a breakaway try from centre Maxime Mermoz and an opportunist effort from flanker Ovidiu Tonita.

But the Tigers scrum had been in destructive mood all night and Perpignan's resistance was broken when Leicester drove them 10 yards back over their own line for Crane to score.

Smith sealed the bonus point with a jinking break down the touchline to not only complete a third straight Heineken Cup win for the Tigers but leave Perpignan staring down the barrel.

Dan Carter, reputedly earning an average of £30,000 a game on his six-month sabbatical, was absent from the Perpignan side after spending the week on promotional duties in Italy.

Perpignan missed him. The Catalans came into this pivotal encounter without any of their three front-line fly-halves - Nicholas Laharrague and Steve Meyer were both injured - and scrum-half David Mele in the 10 jersey.

On the back of a rampaging pack, Leicester made Carter and Perpignan pay as they powered into a 13-0 lead inside the first quarter with a converted try and two penalties from Flood.

He had kicked Leicester into a fourth-minute lead before the Tigers' giant pack, featuring the hard-nosed Julian White for the first time in four matches, began to shove Perpignan through the Welford Road mincer.

The visitors crumbled at the first two scrums and were rattled by the Tigers' physicality as Leicester drove deep into their 22.

Not a sight often seen under the ELVs.

After Mele spilled the ball, Perpignan's full-back Philip Burger - taunted by wolf-whistles for wearing black leggings - scuffed a dreadful clearance straight to Lewis Moody.

The ball was recycled and Flood stepped around Perpignan's rush defence to score next to the posts.

Flood's opposite Mele missed two simple penalties from his first four attempts and Perpignan were rocking before an extraordinary counter-attack from Mermoz drew the scores level.

The centre collected an overthrown lineout, spun through the Leicester midfield and then stepped past full-back Georden Murphy to sprint under the posts.

It was a poor try for Leicester to concede, although minutes earlier they had escaped when Hipkiss failed to deal with Mele's angled chip and Crane had to volley the ball clear.

Hipkiss soon made up for his gaffe, running a beautiful line through the heart of the Perpignan defence. He was hauled down just under the posts but Leicester had both momentum and numbers and Mauger touched down to open a 20-13 half-time lead.

The Tigers' destructive pack continued in the same vain after the interval, driving Perpignan back 10 metres. Almost immediately the visitors made their first front-row change.

Leicester chased like bloodhounds and they caught Mele isolated in his own 22 having received the ultimate hospital pass from his flanker Jean-Pierre Perez.

Flood took full advantage to extend Leicester's lead but, in a manner that encapsulates the Tigers' frustrating season, Perpignan found a way back into the contest.

Leicester failed to deal with Nicolas Durand's grubber kick into the corner and flanker Tonita pounced to score a try confirmed by the television official. Mele then compounded his early misses by landing a brilliant touchline conversion.

But the Tigers reverted back to the source of their dominance, and with White and Marco Ayerza in destructive mood they drove Perpignan' pack 10 metres back over their own line for Crane, who had kept the ball well controlled at the base of the scrum, to touch down.

The bonus-point was sealed with 13 minutes remaining when Mauger and Murphy fed Smith wide on the right, who jinked inside past the last defender to score.

Perpignan earned a penalty try with the last play of the game after Leicester's scrum was penalised. It was the first time they had gone backwards all evening.