Booth leaves it late to lift Leicester
ByReuters
Published 24/08/2002 at 17:16 GMT
A last minute try from former rugby league player Steve Booth gave Leicester their first win in the rugby union Orange Cup on Saturday in Bayonne. Leicester defeated Biarritz 14-13 to snatch the "Match of the Champions", a friendly between the winners of the French and the English Premier leagues.
A last minute try from former rugby league player Steve Booth gave Leicester their first win in the rugby union Orange Cup on Saturday in Bayonne. Leicester defeated Biarritz 14-13 to snatch the "Match of the Champions", a friendly between the winners of the French and the English Premier leagues.
Defeated last year by Toulouse in the first edition of the trophy, the Tigers were out for revenge and the game turned into a physical contest played under scorching sun.
"It was a close fought game and we are pretty happy with the result we got," said former New-Zealand international Josh Kronfeld.
Biarritz took the lead 33 minutes into the game thanks to a try from veteran wing three-quarter Philippe Bernat-Salles converted by flyhalf Julien Peyrelongue.
But Leicester replied four minutes later when young centre James Hipkiss broke through and dodged the French line for a try that Tim Stimpson converted.
The game was plagued by handling errors and Biarritz relied on their goalkicker Peyrelongue who duly landed two penalties, giving them a 13-7 lead with 15 minutes remaining. But Leicester, who secured their fourth consecutive English
premiership title and their second European Cup last season,
never stopped running the ball.
Their consistency was rewarded three minutes before the whistle when Booth planted the ball between the posts for the match-winning try easily converted by Sam Vesty.
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