Skipper Martin Corry says "sheer determination" is the quality that shone through brightest in Leicester Tigers' nail-biting victory over Stade Francais at Welford Road on Sunday.
The win, courtesy of tries from Seru Rabeni and Tom Varndell plus 11 points from fly-half Andy Goode, sets up a Heineken Cup semi-final against Llanelli Scarlets at the Walkers Stadium on Saturday, April 21.
"It was a tough match, there were a lot of mistakes as well, which stopped both asides getting a flow," said Corry. "In games like this, it is all about the result. Stade had opportunities to win it and thankfully we took our crucial one.
"We just nicked it and the pleasing thing was our resilience. We kept plugging away and showed great determination, which I thought was the key to the whole game.
"You saw that in players charging down those drop goals right at the end. Stade got into the positions but the character of the lads shone through, especially Harry Ellis, in putting pressure on the kickers which meant when they got down there and had opportunities they could not take them."
The scores were level at half-time, but Tigers twice went behind to David Skrela penalties and were 14-20 down with 10 minutes to go after the French international fly-half added a drop goal.
But Tigers were not to be denied, with Dan Hipkiss putting Vanrdell away on the right wing to score the try which Goode converted.
"We did make mistakes," said Corry, "But right from the start all the way to the end we showed sheer determination. We just stuck to the task and it was great to get the win.
"We adapted our game a little bit as it went on. I felt we were a little bit too eager at times, trying to force things, so we changed the game plan a little to eliminate that."
Corry, playing in his 56th Heineken Cup game for Tigers, was also delighted with the part played by a capacity 17,418 Welford Road crowd.
"The atmosphere was great," he said. "It is always special at Welford Road, it always gets to me, but today it was something else."
The win, courtesy of tries from Seru Rabeni and Tom Varndell plus 11 points from fly-half Andy Goode, sets up a Heineken Cup semi-final against Llanelli Scarlets at the Walkers Stadium on Saturday, April 21.
"It was a tough match, there were a lot of mistakes as well, which stopped both asides getting a flow," said Corry. "In games like this, it is all about the result. Stade had opportunities to win it and thankfully we took our crucial one.
"We just nicked it and the pleasing thing was our resilience. We kept plugging away and showed great determination, which I thought was the key to the whole game.
"You saw that in players charging down those drop goals right at the end. Stade got into the positions but the character of the lads shone through, especially Harry Ellis, in putting pressure on the kickers which meant when they got down there and had opportunities they could not take them."
The scores were level at half-time, but Tigers twice went behind to David Skrela penalties and were 14-20 down with 10 minutes to go after the French international fly-half added a drop goal.
But Tigers were not to be denied, with Dan Hipkiss putting Vanrdell away on the right wing to score the try which Goode converted.
"We did make mistakes," said Corry, "But right from the start all the way to the end we showed sheer determination. We just stuck to the task and it was great to get the win.
"We adapted our game a little bit as it went on. I felt we were a little bit too eager at times, trying to force things, so we changed the game plan a little to eliminate that."
Corry, playing in his 56th Heineken Cup game for Tigers, was also delighted with the part played by a capacity 17,418 Welford Road crowd.
"The atmosphere was great," he said. "It is always special at Welford Road, it always gets to me, but today it was something else."