Tigers avoid slip-up in France
By Ben Blackmore
Last Updated: 01/01/70 1:00am
Leicester Tigers produced a superb forward effort to overcome Bourgoin 28-13.
Leicester Tigers made the most of some muggy conditions to beat Bourgoin 28-13 at the Stade Aime Giral.
Playing in unrelenting rain that threatened the game's existence right up until kick-off, Leicester produced the kind of forward display that once defined them to pick up four crucial points.
Playing in a city famed for its cuisine, the Tigers served up a treat of forward-dominated rugby - led by Lewis Moody and George Chuter - to score through Geordan Murphy, Tom Varndell and Martin Corry.
Unfortunately, a fourth touchdown did not follow, meaning Leicester miss the chance to top the group as they join Munster on nine points.
Boss Pat Howard had the luxury of welcoming back a host of internationals before the match, and two of them combined instantly to give the Tigers a strong start.
Moody applied the initial pressure to Bourgoin fly-half Benjamin Boyet in trademark fashion, and Andy Goode was able to convert the third-minute penalty that followed from Leicester's first catch-and-drive.
Playing in driving rain, clinical rugby in the tight exchanges was always going to be the order of the day, and Leicester nearly scored the first try inside 10 minutes with some fantastic old-fashioned rugby.
With Moody providing the drive behind a rumbling maul, Leicester advanced 20 yards to collapse over the Bourgoin line, but neither the referee nor the fourth official could confirm the ball had been grounded.
The Premiership side did not have to wait long for a five-pointer though, although some controversy surrounded Murphy's 18th-minute touchdown.
Goode was the man to step outside of Bourgoin winger Jean-Francois Coux, but the fly-half's pass was clearly forward as Murphy coasted over.
Goode's conversion fell wide of the far post to give the hosts something to cheer in an otherwise one-sided first quarter, and they were soon able to cut the deficit to 8-3 as Boyet nailed his first penalty of the evening.
Leicester were clearly dictating matters though, and another surge up the middle of the field involving Moody and Harry Ellis resulted in three more points.
More significantly, Scottish flanker Mark Rennie saw yellow for the infringement that led to the penalty, and the Tigers took full advantage by adding 17 more points before the break.
Once again question marks hovered over Varndell's try - the second of the contest, the winger's foot coming perilously close to the touchline as he grounded the ball after some superb recycling by the two-time European champions.
Then, after more energy-sapping work from Leicester's immense pack, Ellis darted through a gap close to the fringes to feed Corry for a converted 28-3 half-time scoreline.
Bourgoin knew they needed a rousing start if they were to even threaten their opponents' superiority in the second half, yet captain Julien Bonnaire set an instant bad example by knocking on from their first possession after the restart.
Moments later it was Boyet showing a total lack of concentration, sending a penalty out of play to hand Leicester the unexpected bonus of a scrum on halfway.
The Tigers just needed to produce 40 minutes of what they served up in the first period, although there was the extra pressure of adding one more try to claim what could be a crucial bonus point.
That pressure saw one or two errors creep into the visitors' game as they tried to force a score, and their defence was made to work increasingly harder as Bourgoin probed for a way back into the match.
Inevitably, as Howard made a flurry of substitutions the Frenchmen did make a breakthrough, Benoit Cabello dummying his way past Geordan Murphy for 28-8.
The try had arrived too late for Bourgoin to mount a serious revival, but all hopes of a Leicester bonus point disappeared with eight minutes remaining, Corry and Brett Deacon earning themselves 10 minutes in the sin bin for persistent infringement at the ruck and a dangerous tackle respectively.
Goode followed right at the death in one last illegal attempt to steal possession, and Bourgoin gave the score some respectability with Coux going over.
A fine away win for the Tigers, but how important will that elusive bonus point prove to be?
