Leicester Tigers 16
Racing Metro 19
DAN CARTER KICKED 11 points in a thoroughly convincing Champions Cup semi-final win for Racing Club 92 over Leicester Tigers at the City Ground.
It was a game where the Tigers struggled to get any sort of foothold, and the final score in Nottingham was of a flattering nature as the Paris club had two second half tries called back by the officials.
The tide was turned towards the Ciel et Bleu as early as the fourth minute. Joe Rokocoko was alert enough to spot prop Dan Cole drifting from his pillar position at the side of a ruck 40 metres out and the All Black ate up metres after sniping inside.
Rokocoko bumped a tackle and presented the ball for the arriving cavalry and within three phases, scrum-half Maxime Machenaud was burrowing his way to the try-line.
Though there was only a further Carter conversion and penalty to show for their efforts, Racing were utterly dominant in the opening quarter and it took the Tigers until the 27th minute to open the scoring through Freddy Burns.
The out-half was forced out through injury soon after, and his replacement Owen Williams’ first act was to smash a terrific 40 metre penalty between the posts to bring the deficit down to 6 – 10 before Carter was allowed the chance to make it 6 – 13 before half-time.
Tigers made little attempt to disguise their plan of attack, repeatedly asking the 130kg Opeti Fonua to carry into contact. Racing though, had the perfect answer more often than not and number 8 Chris Masoe made it his routine to be on hand to bat his opposite number down.
In front of another disappointingly sparse crowd for a European Cup semi-final, Tigers began the second half in much more purposeful fashion and Williams again exchanged penalties with Carter. However, errors were never away far for the two-time winners.
Before the hour, Ronan O’Gara must have felt his charges had finally opened up a game-winning gap. But the thrilling Johan Goosen try created by a superb soft, short pass from Rokocoko was called back two full phases to a Masoe forward pass to Machenaud – who was within whispering distance of the touch judge at the time.
Any sense of momentum Leicester felt from that rub of the green didn’t linger for long. Johannes Goosen gobbled up his second attempt at a long-range penalty – the score that eventually decided the game. And it should have been the visitors who had the honour of rounding off the game with a try as Juan Imhoff ran a dropped Tigers pass all the way back for a try. Referee Nigel Owens had prematurely called play back in the belief that Imhoff had committed a deliberate knock on.
The replay showed no touch from the Argentine and Owens’ ‘sincere apologies’ will have difficult to accept in the French coaching box when Telusa Veainu went over for a late try to give the hosts hope.
O’Gara’s defence was finally breached, but there would be no fairytale finish for Richard Cockerill on home turf. Racing forced a penalty metres from the English try-line and Carter had the pleasure of ending the contest with a delighted boot to touch.
Scorers
Leicester Tigers
Try: Telusa Veainua
Conversion: Owen Williams (1/1)
Penalties: Freddy Burns (1/1), Owen Williams (2/2)
Racing Club 92
Try: Maxime Machenaud
Conversion: Dan Carter (1/1)
Penalties: Dan Carter (3/3), Johannes Goosen (1/2)
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