Leicester remain top of Pool Three on Saturday night after collecting a bonus point -
but the Tigers had precious little else to smile about as they trudged off a
beaten side by Stade Francais.
Stade were kicked to victory in a dour Heineken Cup clash by scrum-half Jerome
Fillol, who was named man-of-the-match for his four penalties, though it was one
of those days when the adjudicators will have been pushed to find a worthy
winner.
Leicester managed none of the attacking zest that saw them rack up 57 points
against Clermont Auvergne last week, while Stade Francais were clearly
determined not to suffer a repeat of their defeat to the Ospreys.
All of which led to a forward-dominated encounter with little spark, little
invention and a whole load of stoppages as the breakdown descended into a
penalty-fest.
Andy Goode's two penalties earned Leicester a losing bonus point which keeps
them top of the group, but it was scant consolation on a frustrating afternoon
for the three-times European champions.
It was a chance missed for Leicester. Stade were missing a clutch of
internationals with Agustin Pichot, Sylvain Marconnet, captain David Auradu,
Christophe Dominici and Stephan Glas all out injured.
But they responded to last week's defeat at the Ospreys in dogged fashion.
The match was switched from their regular home to the 25,000 capacity Stade
Charlety in south-east Paris. Leicester were greeted by a boisterous,
flag-waving home support and a Stade side who forced them to defend for large
swathes of the opening half.
But a woeful kicking display from Stade scrum-half Fillol and French
international centre Brian Liebenburg meant the Tigers were rarely under any
sustained pressure.
Fillol skewed a first-minute penalty horribly wide of the posts and set the
tone for much of Stade's first-half.
Outside-centre Geoffrey Messina collected a testing up-and-under over the
shoulder of Geordan Murphy but just when the chance seemed to be opening up for
Stade, with the Leicester defence broken, flanker Remy Martin spilled the ball
forward.
Leicester were penalised again at the breakdown but Fillol, from the same
spot, missed once again. This time his effort barely reached the try-line.
Leicester, aware they should have been 6-0 down in under 10 minutes, sought to
make Stade pay dearly for their profligacy and Harry Ellis arced a superb kick
over the scrum to push play deep into French territory.
Another woeful clearance awarded Leicester the lineout in a generous position
and they drove forcefully for the line but when Goode straightened his run,
hoping to find a chink in the Stade defence, the gap closed on him and he
spilled the ball forward.
Liebenburg finally got a decent kick away - a delicate chip over the advancing
Leicester defence - but he was somewhat harshly penalised for holding on. Martin
then escaped admonishment from referee Donal Courtney when, having tangled with
Ellis at the base of a ruck, he checked Geordan Murphy off the ball after the
Irish full-back had sent a clever grubber kick through the advancing Stade
defence.
Goode missed the chance to put Leicester ahead and Fillol finally got the
scoreboard moving after 24 minutes with a penalty for Stade under the posts
after the Tigers had been caught off-side. It was third time lucky for Fillol,
though it did little to settle Stade down into any type of rhythm.
Their best moment of the half came on the counter-attack when Mirco Bergamasco
sparked the break with a jinking run into the Leicester half but Goode was on
hand produced a try-saving tackle on full-back Olivier Sarramea just as he
reached for the line.
Goode levelled the scores with the final act of an uninspiring first-half -
and things did not get much better after the interval.
It was not until two minutes from time that Courtney finally brandished the
yellow card - to Ben Kay - which was a surprise given the amount of skullduggery
that was going on at the breakdown.
That made for a stop-start game that clearly suited Stade best and as
Leicester struggled to escape their own half, Fillol finally found his range to
boot three penalties and open a 12-3 lead with 13 minutes remaining.
Goode booted Leicester back in touch after Stade's combative hooker Dimitri
Szarzewski and Lewis Moody had become embroiled in a scuffle on the deck.
But Leicester botched two late chances to snatch the game. Murphy's chip over
the top was charged down and when Leicester then won a penalty and launched a
drive from the subsequent lineout, a careless accidental offside allowed Stade
to clear their lines and secure the win.
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