English champions Leicester completed a remarkable golden Treble when they
were crowned Heineken Cup winners after an unforgettable final against French
champions Stade Francais at Parc des Princes.
The Tigers outscored their opponents 3-0 on tries, but left it late before
securing the success they so richly deserved.
Centre Leon Lloyd's 80th minute touchdown gave Leicester glory, and stunned
Stade whose 30 points came from the boot of their Italian Test fly-half Diego
Dominguez.
Dominguez landed a tournament-record nine penalties, while his points tally
also set a new best for a European final, but Leicester were not to be denied in
the face of such an onslaught.
Despite having their captain - England and Lions leader Martin Johnson -
sin-binned for punching in the second half, they dug deep into their limitless
supplies of courage and resolve.
They trailed 15-9 at half-time, but scored three tries after the break, two
from the impressive Lloyd and one by England flanker Neil Back.
Tigers' scrum-half Austin Healey was a deserved man-of-the-match winner, after
threatening the Stade defence through his sniping breaks and attacking
invention, but the closing seconds were simply pure theatre as Leicester held
on.
They follow Bath and Northampton as previous English winners of this trophy,
landing a spectacular hat-trick of European glory, Premiership title success,
and Zurich Championship play-off honours.
Teams:
Leicester: Stimpson, Murphy, Lloyd, Howard, Stanley, Goode,
Healey, Rowntree, West, Garforth, M. Johnson, Kay, Corry, Back,
W. Johnson.
Replacements: Hamilton for Goode (72),
Gustard for W. Johnson (36).
Not Used: Freshwater, Cockerill, Nebbett, Moody, Gelderbloom.
Sin Bin: M. Johnson (47).
Stade Francais: Dominici, Lombard, Comba, Mytton, Gomes,
Dominguez, Williams, Marconnet, Landreau, De Villiers, Auradou,
James, Moni, Pool-Jones, Juillet.
Replacements: Tabacco for Moni (65).
Not Used: Blin, Lemoine, George, Venditti, Berthe, Laussucq.
Sin Bin: Landreau (6).
Att: 45,000
Ref: David McHugh (Ireland).
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