IF NOTHING ELSE, Leicester’s 25-21 home win over Toulon gives hope to the rest of the tournament that the galacticos can be beaten.
The result doesn’t change Ulster’s prognosis a whole lot – they still need to win all their remaining games and pick up as much points as they can while doing it.
But Leicester’s win was impressive nonetheless, although they did do all the could to give Toulon the game, gifting them two tries from sloppy turnovers.
The Welford Road crowd were in ecstasy early on as two Owen Williams penalties and a converted Brad Thorn try gave the home side an early 13-0 lead.
Scrum-half Sebastien Tillous-Borde threw a poor offload over the head of Drew Mitchell and the wing completely missed the ball when bending down, allowing the kiwi lock to dive over for a simple finish after a nice pop pass from Tom Youngs.
But the star-studded visitors gradually woke from their slumber and two penalties from Argentine out-half Nicholas Sanchez reduced the gap to seven points.
And the game was tied at half time after Bryan Habana used an almost suction-cup like hand to scoop up Owen Williams’ errant pass and sprint under the posts.
A Williams penalty edged the Tigers in front before they lost a scrum against the head in their own 22, allowing Tillous-Borde to snipe on the blindside and put Mitchell over in the corner – redeeming the duo for their earlier blunders.
But Leicester refused to give in, and six more points from the boot of their Welsh out-half gave them a buffer as the game approached the final ten minutes. Sanchez reduced the gap once more but a final Williams penalty one minute from time sealed an important win that maintains Leicester’s interest in the competition.
As it stands, Toulon lead pool three with nine points, Leicester are in second with eight points, Ulster are in third with six and the Scarlets have four.
