Prop forward Ayerza played a key role in a first victory in France since 2006 and made the pass for Vereniki Goneva’s last-minute try.
“The spirit of the team for not giving up was immense,” said Ayerza who played in that 2006 win in Bourgoin during his debut season with Leicester.
“That spirit is key in this competition and to try to get out of a tough pool.
“We're very pleased the team showed that character and showed how they could come back right at the end of the game.
“It was very physical, a tight game, with lots of scrums so you feel tired but you keep on fighting. The accuracy right at the end for the try was very good.
“For the try Ed Slater got a very good catch and when the ball came to me I thought about a dummy pass and going myself but remembered the Gloucester game where I kept hold of the ball and so I decided to fix the defender and pass to Niki.
“It is never easy to come to France and beat a team on their home ground. We’re very pleased that we did that and can take that confidence into the rest of the competition.”
Ayerza played a central role too in the battle for supremacy up front.
“They had a very sold and heavy pack so we all had to work extremely hard,” he said. “We’re pleased with how we fought in the set-piece and we got some reward there.
“We created some good chances too but you know you are not going to get many opportunities against good sides like that away from home. We do need to be more clinical and take those opportunities.
“It was a big test of character in the team to keep fighting and believing that we would come through it.”
Tigers face a trip to Benetton Treviso in Round 5 and then host Ulster at Welford Road in the last match in the pool stages. Dates and times for both fixtures will be announced on Wednesday this week.
