By Ian Birks
December 6 2004

This was a match that should have been wrapped up in the first half for Leicester, but instead it went to the wire after the Tigers gave away 24 points to keep London Wasps in the game.
Three tries from the Tigers were effectively cancelled out by the boot of van Gisbergen as the penalty count mounted against the visiting side.

The first of those tries was scored in the very first minute when a sweeping move ended with Lewis Moody’s arcing run around the Wasps defensive line to crash over the line in the corner. Goode converted and before you knew it, Wasps were 0-7 down.

The scrum was to prove a problem area for the home side, unable to take the pressure time after time. Tigers were awarded a penalty five minutes later and to everyone’s disbelief, the Tigers moved to 0-10.

More pain before any gain for the current English and European Champions was to come in the 11th minute of the first half when quick hands in the mid-field saw the ball passed on to Geordan Murphy who slid over the line in the opposite corner to Moody’s try. The score remained at 0-15 as Goode missed the conversion on this occasion.

Two penalties in two minutes against Leicester brought the score to 6-15 when van Gisbergen slotted his kicks in the 14th and 16th minutes of the first period.

Leicester replied with another try only two minutes later; a cross-field kick from Goode sat up nicely for the Tiger’s wing/No.8, Corry to force his way through the tackles and increase Leicester lead to 6-22 after Goode’s successful conversion.

The pace did not slacken for either side as discipline and self-control were pushed to the limits. Ellis was binned in the 23rd minute, giving the home side the necessary advantage for Lewsey to cut through the Leicester defence for the Wasps first and only try of the day. That man, van Gisbergen was there to step up the mark to add the extras: 13-22 to the Tigers.

With only a few minutes remaining, you might have been forgiven for thinking that the half-time score had been reached, but two more successful kicks from van Gisbergen and one from Goode moved the score line to 19-25.

Within 11 minutes, Wasps were gifted a further six point life-line to bring the scores level at 25-all as Leicester continued to infringe. Van Gisbergen was off the mark for another 8th minute penalty that was awarded to Wasps when the Tigers were adjudged to have collapsed the maul, followed by a moment of madness from the visitors resulted in them losing a further 10m for a comment made to the referee. This should have made the kick easier but van Gisbergen’s effort was just wide.

Tigers were allowed back into the game with two successful kicks from Goode around the hour mark giving them a 6-point advantage as play moved into the last quarter: 25-31.

However, the penalty count continued to climb and the Wasps full-back brought the scores level yet again with two more penalties in two minutes (sound familiar?); 28 minutes played in the second half and all to play for with the score at 31-31.

The Tiger’s supremacy in the scrum was to be the undoing of the Wasps when the home side was penalised for standing up under Leicester pressure. Goode kicked the points in the 38th minute and Tigers edged into a 31-34 lead.

A minute later, Wasps were penalised for not rolling away after a tackle straight from the restart. Tigers pushed onwards and presented Goode with the opportunity to take 3 from a drop goal, as Leicester moved into a 31-37 lead.

Wasps fought back with a concerted effort to cross the Tiger’s line. Camped on the visitor’s line, Leicester were lucky not to concede a penalty try in the dying moments as Wasps attempted time after time to smash their way through the Tiger’s defence. The final whistle came all too soon for the Wasps players and supporters.

The score of 31-37 to Leicester means that the HEC pool is now so tight that a single point is all that separates the first three teams.

Wasps, with the benefit of the losing-bonus from this game are top with 10; Biarritz and Leicester on 9 points with Tigers having a marginal advantage of having to play both Wasps and Biarritz at home.

Leicester end their HEC pool campaign with a deceptively tough match against Calvisano in January, but the choice game in that final weekend of qualifying games will have to be the return leg that sees Wasps travel to Biarritz.

Things are wide open in this tough pool where finishing in second will probably mean that your HEC-05 campaign will come to an abrupt end, but in true Tiger’s fashion the only game that matters is the Tigers v Wasps game on the 12th December, and what an encounter that promises to be!

My Man Of The Match –Martin Corry.