Ben Kay picked the big stage of a Cup Final and the landmark occasion of his 200th Tigers appearance to score a memorable try against the Ospreys on Sunday - but it was not even the most spectacular Twickenham try of his career.
"My closest-range try at Twickenham," was how a smiling Kay described his 30-metre touchdown during the first half of a pulsating 41-35 victory in the EDF Energy Cup Final. "I've only scored one other - from 40 metres against Ireland in 2002!"
Kay reached the 200 mark after 167 starts and 33 appearances as a replacement since his Tigers club debut in September 1999, and his Twickenham score, which stretched Tigers' lead in the first half, was his 11th try in Leicester colours.
"I wasn't intending to throw the dummy, I was hoping they would step into the tackle, but when the defence moved up a gap opened up," he said. "You usually feel when someone is closing on you in that situation but I just thought I would get into as much space as possible and I managed to score."
The Paul Burke conversion which followed put Tigers 21-6 ahead despite starting on the back foot when two James Hook penalties had given first blood to the Ospreys. Tom Varndell and Tom Croft had scored tries before Kay made his mark, and Alesana Tuilagi added the team's fourth before half-time.
The second half, however, produced a rollercoaster of emotions as the Welsh region fought back, only for Varndell to grab his second try of the day, and replacement fly-half Andy Goode to kick two penalties and a conversion.
"It is nice to be able to beat quality opposition and they certainly showed how difficult they are to beat when they came back in the second half," said Kay.
"We certainly did not think it was won by half-time. We talked about how well Hook was kicking and were wary about them getting a few penalties at the start of the second half, but they actually scored a couple of quick tries. They are dangerous runners and they can create tries from nothing but the key for us was when we had the ball we had to hold on to it."
After enjoying the triumph, Kay and his colleagues get back to work with a Heineken Cup date looming against Llanelli Scarlets.
"Now that this one is out of the way, we can focus only on the Scarlets," Kay said. "It is not a cliché to say we have to take it one game at a time, that is the way you have to do it."
"My closest-range try at Twickenham," was how a smiling Kay described his 30-metre touchdown during the first half of a pulsating 41-35 victory in the EDF Energy Cup Final. "I've only scored one other - from 40 metres against Ireland in 2002!"
Kay reached the 200 mark after 167 starts and 33 appearances as a replacement since his Tigers club debut in September 1999, and his Twickenham score, which stretched Tigers' lead in the first half, was his 11th try in Leicester colours.
"I wasn't intending to throw the dummy, I was hoping they would step into the tackle, but when the defence moved up a gap opened up," he said. "You usually feel when someone is closing on you in that situation but I just thought I would get into as much space as possible and I managed to score."
The Paul Burke conversion which followed put Tigers 21-6 ahead despite starting on the back foot when two James Hook penalties had given first blood to the Ospreys. Tom Varndell and Tom Croft had scored tries before Kay made his mark, and Alesana Tuilagi added the team's fourth before half-time.
The second half, however, produced a rollercoaster of emotions as the Welsh region fought back, only for Varndell to grab his second try of the day, and replacement fly-half Andy Goode to kick two penalties and a conversion.
"It is nice to be able to beat quality opposition and they certainly showed how difficult they are to beat when they came back in the second half," said Kay.
"We certainly did not think it was won by half-time. We talked about how well Hook was kicking and were wary about them getting a few penalties at the start of the second half, but they actually scored a couple of quick tries. They are dangerous runners and they can create tries from nothing but the key for us was when we had the ball we had to hold on to it."
After enjoying the triumph, Kay and his colleagues get back to work with a Heineken Cup date looming against Llanelli Scarlets.
"Now that this one is out of the way, we can focus only on the Scarlets," Kay said. "It is not a cliché to say we have to take it one game at a time, that is the way you have to do it."
