May 19, 2001 will always be a date that sticks in the minds of Leicester supporters around the world.
Having grown their domestic stature during the 80’s and 90’s as one of the country’s best rugby clubs, Tigers added the European title to their honours list for the first time beating Stade Français in the Heineken Champions Cup final.
The Parc des Princes played host to the fixture, which saw Tigers fans travel ‘the channel’ to watch Leicester in their second European final in consecutive seasons.
Leinster had come out on top the season before, adding more fuel to the fire for former player-now head coach Dean Richards’ men, who were chasing a famous treble having secured a league and domestic cup title in the preceding weeks.
44,000 supporters packed into the stadium for the three o’clock afternoon kick-off with the Tigers team on SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2001 including:
15 Tim Stimpson
14 Geordan Murphy
13 Leon Lloyd
12 Pat Howard
11 Winston Stanley
10 Andy Goode
8 Will Johnson
6 Martin Corry
5 Ben Kay
2 Dorian West
1 Graham Rowntree
Replacements:
16 Glenn Gelderbloom
17 Jamie Hamilton
19 Perry Freshwater
20 Ricky Nebbett
21 Paul Gustard
22 Lewis Moody
It was the French outfit who got the first points on the board from the boot of fly-half Diego Dominguez in the opening minutes, before he and Tigers fullback Tim Stimpson went toe-to-toe in a first half of penalty kicks. The teams went in at the break with Stade Français 15 points to Tigers 9.
Leicester came out rumbling and a minute after the restart centre and wing Leon Lloyd marked the game’s first try, the beginning of a euphoric double to come.
Dominguez nudged Stade Français further into the lead from the tee before flanker Neil Back got himself a try. Tim Stimpson added the extras to level the scores at 21-all in the 59th minute.
The Dominquez/Stimpson showdown continued with the Argentine capitalising on his initiative for a drop goal in the 77th minute to make the score 30-27.
But Tigers weren’t finished. Scrum-half Austin Healey burst through a gap in the Stade Français backline and had the legs of Leon Lloyd on hand to dive in the corner and swing the game back in Tigers favour.
Tim Stimpson nailed the conversion from the tightest of angles on the right flank to secure a historic Cup Final win.
Join us on June 25, 2021
The 2020/21 season marks the 20th anniversary of Leicester Tigers’ first European title win and the club is hosting a special evening on Friday, June 25 to commemorate the occasion.
As part of the build-up, Tigers will be sharing archive footage, interviews with former players and looking back at the road to victory.
Hosted in partnership with Switch the Play Foundation, a charity co-founded by European Cup hero Leon Lloyd which supports all sportspeople in transition into life outside of sport, supporters can book their place now.
Find out more about the event by clicking here.
