Leicester Tigers produced one of their greatest-ever European performances to beat Munster Rugby 31-19 at their Thomond Park fortress.
Almost nine years after recording one of their most famous wins in Europe at the old Thomond Park, Tigers created history by becoming the only club to win at the famous ground in the Champions Cup on two occasions.
Tigers return to Leicester with four match points that keep them top of Champions Cup Pool 4. Crucially, they denied their Guinness Pro12 opponents a losing bonus point, which could prove vital with the two sides meeting back at Welford Road next Sunday.
The win was built on 15 unanswered points in the second quarter of the game. Tigers had trailed 6-3 when Owen Williams landed his second penalty before Vereniki Goneva crossed at the left corner. Mike Fitzgerald swooped on an overthrown lineout to score his first Leicester try from close range and give Tigers an 18-6 half-time lead.
Tigers weathered a Limerick storm as they conceded a try to Conor Murray and then had Marcos Ayerza sent to the sin bin in the opening five minutes of the second half.
But Ben Youngs’s brilliant individual try put Tigers on top, and despite Mike Sherry scoring Munster’s second try, they eased to victory thanks to two late Tommy Bell penalties.
Brendon O’Connor and Lachlan McCaffrey returned to the Tigers back row, where they were joined by captain Ed Slater. With Slater at flanker, Graham Kitchener partnered Fitzgerald in the second row and Ayerza returned to the front row alongside Tom Youngs and Dan Cole.
Ben Youngs returned at scrum-half alongside Owen Williams while Matt Smith came in at centre in place of Peter Betham.
Argentina international wing Gonzalo Camacho was named in the Tigers matchday squad for the first time in a competitive fixture. He was joined on the bench by Laurence Pearce, who replaced Tom Croft, who withdrew ahead of kick-off through illness.
Former Tigers full-back Lucas Amorosino was named among the replacements on the Munster bench. The Irish side welcomed back from injury All Black Francis Saili and international scrum-half Conor Murray.
The two teams emerged to a huge noise but Tigers were given an opportunity to quieten the home crowd with an early penalty and Williams landed his kick to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.
A galloping run by Robin Copeland up to the Leicester 22 had the home fans on their feet for the first time, captain CJ Stander made further ground and when Tigers infringed at the breakdown Murray launched a crossfield kick towards Simon Zebo that was collected by Adam Thompstone.
Play came back for the penalty, Munster went for the corner but Tigers overturned possession at the maul and cleared up to their 22.
Munster were the dominant side in the opening stages, but Tigers stood firm against a wave of attacks, eventually forcing a handling error from full-back Andrew Conway. They then won a penalty at the game’s first scrum to work their way up to halfway.
A break in midfield by James Cronin was well stopped by Telusa Veainu, who stole possession but referee Romain Poite ruled he did so illegally and Ian Keatley had a simple penalty to level the scores after 15 minutes.
Veainu danced through a couple of tackles to put Tigers back on the attack. Quick hands allowed Ayerza to burst into the Munster 22 but he was tackled 5m short by Dave Foley before Tom Youngs was whistled for holding on.
At the other end, Zebo’s kick-chase had Veainu under pressure and won a holding-on penalty. Keatley’s kick put Munster ahead for the only time in the game.
Quick thinking by Ben Youngs turned defence into attack when he tapped and went at a penalty on his own 22. He made ground up to the Munster 10m line and chipped ahead where Conway mopped up and found touch.
Williams opted to kick for goal when Munster conceded a holding-on penalty of their own on halfway. And his kick just had the legs to bring Tigers level after 29 minutes.
Slater was pinged at the restart for obstructing Conway but Keatley was wide with a simple kick from in front of the posts.
Munster fans were calling for a penalty when Fitzgerald appeared to impede Conway, but when referee Poite consulted his TMO he gave the penalty to Tigers for a push by Cronin on the Leicester lock.
Tigers kicked to touch and then drove Munster 20m back to their line where the maul was dragged down. With the penalty advantage, Goneva collected Ben Youngs’s pass and stepped past Keatley in one movement and held off Stander to score at the corner for a brilliant finish. Williams’s conversion struck the post as Tigers led 11-6 after 35 minutes.
Excellent work by Smith almost brought the second try, the centre snaffling possession on halfway and racing 40m towards the corner. He was stopped by Earls but Tigers flooded forward and Goneva was fingertips away from catching Williams’s kick with no defenders at home.
But Tigers did get their second try at the resulting lineout. Niall Scannell throw could only pick out Fitzgerald at the back of the lineout and he powered over for his first Leicester try. Williams landed the conversion for his 400th point in Tigers colours to gave his side an 18-6 half-time lead.
Munster started the second half with a bang. Keatley’s kick to the corner pinned Tigers in their 22 and when Munster made a mess of the lineout Cronin somehow got a hand on to the ball as it was presented at the back of the the ruck to score a soft try.
Marcos Ayerza was then shown a yellow card for a tackle off the ball, and Keatley landed a simple penalty to cut Leicester’s lead to 18-14 less than five minutes after the restart.
It was a disjointed period in the game with both sides kicking for territory and Tigers looking to take the sting out of things during stoppages in play.
But it was a moment of brilliance by Ben Youngs that finally took the sting out of Munster and their vocal support.
It was classic sniping by the scrum-half, as he slipped Copeland’s tackle and then powered through a static Munster defence to score next to the posts. Williams landed a simple conversion to move Leicester 25-14 ahead after 55 minutes.
A knock-on at the restart signalled the end of Ayerza’s sin-bin period and his first job was to help win a scrum penalty on the Leicester 10m line.
Munster showed plenty of patience as they went through phase after phase to inch their way from their own half into Leicester territory. It created space on the left for Earls to inject pace into the attack. And when Munster recycled quick ball, replacement hooker Sherry trundled over for the hosts’ second try. Keatley missed the conversion as Tigers led 25-19 going into the final 10 minutes.
Tommy Bell, on as a replacement for Williams, calmed Leicester nerves with a penalty soon after the restart that moved Tigers 28-19 up and more than a score ahead.
Tigers were brilliant in defence, forcing Munster to play across the pitch. And when they isolated Copeland, he was pinged for holding on allowing Bell to kick up to the Munster 22.
Leicester won another penalty at the lineout and this time Bell went for goal, landing his kick from the angle to move Richard Cockerill’s men into a 31-19 lead with four minutes remaining.
There was still time for Harry Thacker to come on for his European debut, replacing Tom Youngs at hooker, and Gonzalo Camacho to make his Leicester debut in place of Adam Thompstone.
Tigers survived one final scare when Earls cut through in midfield and had Zebo on his shoulder but inexplicably threw the pass in the opposite direction and the chance went away.
It was only Munster's fourth defeat in 56 Champions Cup games at Thomond Park, and their second by the Tigers, who top Pool 4 with 14 points from their three fixtures.
Almost nine years after recording one of their most famous wins in Europe at the old Thomond Park, Tigers created history by becoming the only club to win at the famous ground in the Champions Cup on two occasions.
Tigers return to Leicester with four match points that keep them top of Champions Cup Pool 4. Crucially, they denied their Guinness Pro12 opponents a losing bonus point, which could prove vital with the two sides meeting back at Welford Road next Sunday.
The win was built on 15 unanswered points in the second quarter of the game. Tigers had trailed 6-3 when Owen Williams landed his second penalty before Vereniki Goneva crossed at the left corner. Mike Fitzgerald swooped on an overthrown lineout to score his first Leicester try from close range and give Tigers an 18-6 half-time lead.
Tigers weathered a Limerick storm as they conceded a try to Conor Murray and then had Marcos Ayerza sent to the sin bin in the opening five minutes of the second half.
But Ben Youngs’s brilliant individual try put Tigers on top, and despite Mike Sherry scoring Munster’s second try, they eased to victory thanks to two late Tommy Bell penalties.
Brendon O’Connor and Lachlan McCaffrey returned to the Tigers back row, where they were joined by captain Ed Slater. With Slater at flanker, Graham Kitchener partnered Fitzgerald in the second row and Ayerza returned to the front row alongside Tom Youngs and Dan Cole.
Ben Youngs returned at scrum-half alongside Owen Williams while Matt Smith came in at centre in place of Peter Betham.
Argentina international wing Gonzalo Camacho was named in the Tigers matchday squad for the first time in a competitive fixture. He was joined on the bench by Laurence Pearce, who replaced Tom Croft, who withdrew ahead of kick-off through illness.
Former Tigers full-back Lucas Amorosino was named among the replacements on the Munster bench. The Irish side welcomed back from injury All Black Francis Saili and international scrum-half Conor Murray.
The two teams emerged to a huge noise but Tigers were given an opportunity to quieten the home crowd with an early penalty and Williams landed his kick to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.
A galloping run by Robin Copeland up to the Leicester 22 had the home fans on their feet for the first time, captain CJ Stander made further ground and when Tigers infringed at the breakdown Murray launched a crossfield kick towards Simon Zebo that was collected by Adam Thompstone.
Play came back for the penalty, Munster went for the corner but Tigers overturned possession at the maul and cleared up to their 22.
Munster were the dominant side in the opening stages, but Tigers stood firm against a wave of attacks, eventually forcing a handling error from full-back Andrew Conway. They then won a penalty at the game’s first scrum to work their way up to halfway.
A break in midfield by James Cronin was well stopped by Telusa Veainu, who stole possession but referee Romain Poite ruled he did so illegally and Ian Keatley had a simple penalty to level the scores after 15 minutes.
Veainu danced through a couple of tackles to put Tigers back on the attack. Quick hands allowed Ayerza to burst into the Munster 22 but he was tackled 5m short by Dave Foley before Tom Youngs was whistled for holding on.
At the other end, Zebo’s kick-chase had Veainu under pressure and won a holding-on penalty. Keatley’s kick put Munster ahead for the only time in the game.
Quick thinking by Ben Youngs turned defence into attack when he tapped and went at a penalty on his own 22. He made ground up to the Munster 10m line and chipped ahead where Conway mopped up and found touch.
Williams opted to kick for goal when Munster conceded a holding-on penalty of their own on halfway. And his kick just had the legs to bring Tigers level after 29 minutes.
Slater was pinged at the restart for obstructing Conway but Keatley was wide with a simple kick from in front of the posts.
Munster fans were calling for a penalty when Fitzgerald appeared to impede Conway, but when referee Poite consulted his TMO he gave the penalty to Tigers for a push by Cronin on the Leicester lock.
Tigers kicked to touch and then drove Munster 20m back to their line where the maul was dragged down. With the penalty advantage, Goneva collected Ben Youngs’s pass and stepped past Keatley in one movement and held off Stander to score at the corner for a brilliant finish. Williams’s conversion struck the post as Tigers led 11-6 after 35 minutes.
Excellent work by Smith almost brought the second try, the centre snaffling possession on halfway and racing 40m towards the corner. He was stopped by Earls but Tigers flooded forward and Goneva was fingertips away from catching Williams’s kick with no defenders at home.
But Tigers did get their second try at the resulting lineout. Niall Scannell throw could only pick out Fitzgerald at the back of the lineout and he powered over for his first Leicester try. Williams landed the conversion for his 400th point in Tigers colours to gave his side an 18-6 half-time lead.
Munster started the second half with a bang. Keatley’s kick to the corner pinned Tigers in their 22 and when Munster made a mess of the lineout Cronin somehow got a hand on to the ball as it was presented at the back of the the ruck to score a soft try.
Marcos Ayerza was then shown a yellow card for a tackle off the ball, and Keatley landed a simple penalty to cut Leicester’s lead to 18-14 less than five minutes after the restart.
It was a disjointed period in the game with both sides kicking for territory and Tigers looking to take the sting out of things during stoppages in play.
But it was a moment of brilliance by Ben Youngs that finally took the sting out of Munster and their vocal support.
It was classic sniping by the scrum-half, as he slipped Copeland’s tackle and then powered through a static Munster defence to score next to the posts. Williams landed a simple conversion to move Leicester 25-14 ahead after 55 minutes.
A knock-on at the restart signalled the end of Ayerza’s sin-bin period and his first job was to help win a scrum penalty on the Leicester 10m line.
Munster showed plenty of patience as they went through phase after phase to inch their way from their own half into Leicester territory. It created space on the left for Earls to inject pace into the attack. And when Munster recycled quick ball, replacement hooker Sherry trundled over for the hosts’ second try. Keatley missed the conversion as Tigers led 25-19 going into the final 10 minutes.
Tommy Bell, on as a replacement for Williams, calmed Leicester nerves with a penalty soon after the restart that moved Tigers 28-19 up and more than a score ahead.
Tigers were brilliant in defence, forcing Munster to play across the pitch. And when they isolated Copeland, he was pinged for holding on allowing Bell to kick up to the Munster 22.
Leicester won another penalty at the lineout and this time Bell went for goal, landing his kick from the angle to move Richard Cockerill’s men into a 31-19 lead with four minutes remaining.
There was still time for Harry Thacker to come on for his European debut, replacing Tom Youngs at hooker, and Gonzalo Camacho to make his Leicester debut in place of Adam Thompstone.
Tigers survived one final scare when Earls cut through in midfield and had Zebo on his shoulder but inexplicably threw the pass in the opposite direction and the chance went away.
It was only Munster's fourth defeat in 56 Champions Cup games at Thomond Park, and their second by the Tigers, who top Pool 4 with 14 points from their three fixtures.
