Monye: In action against Tigers on Saturday

The league's top two teams produced a season finale that matched glorious Twickenham weather on Saturday, with Quins winning 30-23 to take the silverware back across the A316 to their Stoop headquarters as the sixth different Premiership champions after Newcastle, Wasps, Leicester, Sale and Saracens.

"I wanted to play Leicester in the final," Quins star Monye said.

"They are the ultimate champions - they've won Heineken Cups and Premiership titles - and if you want to announce yourself on the English stage then you need to beat the likes of Leicester.

"They are a fantastic side. The resilience they showed to come back when they were 17 points down was superb. I have so much respect for (Leicester rugby director) Richard Cockerill.

"To be champions is one thing, but to do it against Leicester makes it even more special."

Three years after the tawdry business of Bloodgate left an indelible stain on Quins, they are now making headlines for all the right reasons.

And that includes wing Tom Williams, who bit on the fake blood capsule following orders relayed by then rugby director Dean Richards in a Heineken Cup quarter-final tie against Leinster.

Williams scored Quins' opening try in the final, while fly-half Nick Evans added 20 points from the boot and skipper Chris Robshaw sealed an immense season for club and country with a clinching touchdown.

"This is another chapter in this new era of rugby at Harlequins," Monye added.

"We have got a lot of experience. We've beaten Toulouse away, we beat Munster away last season, Stade Francais in the Amlin Challenge Cup final and Leicester away this year.

"The tight-five were immense again. The scrum and lineout have been incredible this season. There is a really good balance to our side."

Monye also paid a glowing tribute to Quins rugby director Conor O'Shea - tipped by many as Ireland's next coach after Declan Kidney - who has helped transform the club from occasional winners into England's most consistent team over a marathon nine-month season.

"The biggest change at Harlequins has been the culture that Conor has influenced," he said.

"He knows how to get the very best out of young talent. He has developed and matured us, and massive credit goes to him.

"It was a dark time for the club three years ago, but that is over now. He spoke before the final and said the reason he came to Quins were for days like Saturday.

"We were top of the Premiership the whole season, and if people expected us to choke, we didn't.

"Mentally, it is tough - the season seems never-ending - but to come through and win a major trophy is testament to the guys.

"When the final whistle went, Conor was one of the first people I looked for. I wanted to go over and give him a hug because I know how much it means to him and how much he has sacrificed."

Despite leaving English rugby headquarters with a Premiership winners' medal, Monye's season is far from done.

He will head back to South Africa in three days' time, where he impressed for the 2009 British and Irish Lions, hoping he can re-establish himself as an England Test player.

"I finished the 2009 Lions tour in South Africa pretty well, and I am looking forward to meeting up with the boys and getting into it," he added.

"It has been a couple of years since I have been involved with England, and I am looking forward to working with Stuart (Lancaster). I want to fight for a Test place - I feel as though I am good enough.

"It is pretty nostalgic for me going back to South Africa. I've got some really good memories, and I can't wait to get back into an England shirt. I am enjoying my rugby at the moment."

For Leicester, yesterday's defeat was their fifth in eight successive Premiership final appearances, and skipper Geordan Murphy admitted: "We made some very uncharacteristic mistakes.

"Maybe it was the pressure of the big occasion. We made some silly mistakes - forward passes and knock-ons - and that comes down to pressure."

And rugby director Cockerill added: "We have to look at the inaccuracies of our game. Those little things kill you.

"We came to Twickenham to win. We didn't win, and that was disappointing. Someone has to lose and it is us, again."