By Matt Hardy
Leicester Tigers survived a late onslaught to beat Stade Francais 27-24 in Paris and remain unbeaten in the Investec Champions Cup this season.
A weekend Leicester side held on as their hosts pounded away at their try line but a crucial turnover in the 86th minute handed the visitors a stunning victory against the odds across the Channel.
A hat-trick of tries for 22-year-old young hooker Archie Vanes and 12 points from the boot of Jamie Shillcock gave Leicester a strong showing at the Stadium Jean-Bouin.
But five-pointers through Mathieu Hirigoyen, Charles Laloi and Leo Barre – as well as nine points from the boot of Joris Segonds – put Stade Francais within three of their visitors as the clock edged towards the red.
Fine margins for Leicester Tigers
Mike Brown was handed a yellow card for a deliberate knock on and Stade Francais had a number of chances – including one which was scuppered by a fan throwing a second ball onto the pitch – but they were unable to cross the whitewash having repeatedly turned down a shot at goal to level the match and share the spoils.
The victory means Leicester remain unbeaten alongside 2022-23 finalists Leinster in Pool 4 of the Investec Champions Cup.
The duo have nine points each and are five ahead of Sale Sharks and the Stormers in third and fourth with double defending champions La Rochelle without a win so far in this year’s competition.
The result in the final match of the weekend meant that the English Premiership teams finished with six victories out of a possible 10 in the Investec Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, continuing on from round one where eight of the 10 sides secured wins.
On Saturday Saracens beat Connacht 55-36 in north London while Bristol fell to a 36-17 defeat in Bordeaux.
Bath toppled Cardiff 39-32 across the Severn Bridge while Sale lost 37-27 to Leinster in Dublin.
Newcastle lost in Johannesburg 35-13 to the Lions but Gloucester beat Clermont 28-17 on Friday and Northampton toppled Toulon 22-19.
