"I couldn't have asked any more of the guys," said Tigers' player Development manager Carl Douglas. "For many of the academy lads, it was their first time on the big stage and they reacted admirably in difficult conditions at Twickenham. The side was well led by Tom Croft and I'm really pleased with how the squad performed. All in all, it was a very positive experience. Of course we're disappointed not to have made the semi-finals but that's sevens."
Tigers had booked their place in the last eight thanks to a convincing win over Bristol in the second of two Pool 4 fixtures, having earlier lost out to London Irish with the last play of the game in their opening encounter.
Just as they had done against Bristol, Tigers again got off to a flying start as England Sevens star Tom Croft took Rickie Aley's kick-off in typically commanding fashion before powering over with less than 15 seconds on the clock.
One try nearly became two a minute later as Tigers continued to pile the early pressure on their opponents. This time Newcastle kept their line intact, however, as they managed to hold Aley up over the whitewash after Vavae Tuilagi had been hauled down just short thanks to a last ditch tackle.Newcastle hit back with a try of their own with just under three minutes played as Ollie Phillips raced away following a flowing move that started inside their own 22.
Tigers responded in impressive fashion as Tuilagi showed great acceleration to round his man after taking the ball wide on the left inside Tigers territory, giving Leicester a deserved 10-5 lead. Newcastle levelled the scores before half-time though as Tim Visser found a gap in the Tigers defence to cross for his first try of the match. With all four attempted conversions missing their target, the sides entered the one minute interval with the scores tied at 10 apiece.
The Falcons moved two scores clear early in the second period after a second try from Visser and a converted effort from Luke Fielden.
Tigers refused to lie down, however, and Youngs gave them hope of a comeback with his fifth try of the tournament.
Despite the efforts of the young Tigers side, the Falcons held on for a narrow victory that sees them join Worcester, Gloucester and London Irish in the semi-finals later this afternoon.
Earlier in the day...
Tigers vs Bristol
Tigers qualified for the quarter-finals of the Middlesex Sevens thanks to a comfortable 31-12 win over Bristol in their second and final group match.Lat season's tournament runners-up now face Newcastle Falcons at 4.05pm, after the Kingston Park side recorded impressive victories over Harlequins and Sale to top Pool 4.
Carl Douglas' team went into the fixture knowing they had to avoid defeat if they were to make it through to the last eight and keeps their hopes of early-season silverware alive.
Tigers got off to the perfect start, courtesy of a superb individual effort from Ben Youngs. The England youth scrum-half showed great confidence and a superb turn of speed to outpace the last Bristol defender only inches in from the left-hand touchline. Aley added the extras after Youngs had the presence of mind to jog round beneath the posts with less than 30 seconds played.
That man Youngs was the architect of Tigers' second try of the match with three minutes of the half played as he again left the opposition defence for dead, this time with a clever inside step after Tuilagi had turned over Bristol possession on his own line when Leicester had seemed certain to concede a try. After taking possession deep inside his own half, Youngs sprinted clear to register a classic 70 metre score.
Aley was off-target with the conversion from wide on the right but the academy fly-half soon had his name on the scoresheet again with a try of his own. Aley danced through a crowd of players on the edge of the Bristol 22 before dotting the ball down in front of the posts and then successfully kicking the conversion.
Croft then went over for Tigers' fourth try with the very last play of the half following impressive work from Jordan Crane.
Tuilagi added a fifth score in the second period and, although the West Country side hit back with two tries of their own, the Guinness Premiership champions never appeared to be in any danger of letting their lead slip.
Tigers tries: Youngs (2), Aley, Croft, Tuilagi
Conversions: Aley (3)
The quarter-final line-up:
Worcester vs Bath
Leeds Carnegie vs Gloucester
London Irish vs Sale Sharks
Newcastle Falcons vs Leicester Tigers
Tigers vs London Irish
Tigers kicked-off their Middlesex Sevens challenge with a last-minute 22-21 defeat to London Irish at Twickenham.
The Exiles had opened their day with an impressive 38-10 win over Bristol and therefore knew victory over Tigers would secure their place in the next round.
But they were made to wait as Tigers led for most of the 14 minutes.
Tigers captain Tom Croft opened the scoring after 38 seconds, beating the last defender on the right-hand touchline and running in under the posts. Rickie Aley popped over the drop-goal conversion to make it 7-0 lead.
Topsy Ojo beat two tackles and ran in from halfway for Irish's first try in the fourth minute and Delon Armitage's conversion levelled the scores.
Armitage dived over for Irish's next try after a quick penalty but missed the conversion as the Exiles led 12-7.
A minute later Ben Youngs took the ball on in midfield and showed an electric burst of pace to burst through a gap in the Irish defence and stayed clear of the cover to score. Aley converted to make it 14-12 to Tigers at half-time.
Youngs was back on the scoresheet after just a minute of the second period, accelerating past the Irish defence on the edge of his own 22 and running along the right touchline before cutting inside to score. Aley's conversion made it 21-12.
But a double from Stuart Mackie secured the win for Irish. His first came after Tigers defence had been stretched, closing the gap to just four points and in the final minute he repeated the dose to put Irish one point ahead and secure a narrow win.
The result meant Tigers' second game against Bristol would be a winner-takes-all tie with the victors advancing to the second round and the loserws heading home.
Gloucester and Worcester had already made progress from Pool One, with London Wasps surprisingly knocked out, while Bath and Leeds went through from Pool Two, with Saracens out.
Tigers squad
Tom Croft (captain)
Ben Pienaar
Jordan Crane
Robert Bell
Ben Youngs
Billy Twelvetrees
Will Lawson
Ayoola Erinle
Rickie Aley
Chris Mundy
Vavae Tuilagi
Will Hurrell
