Champions Cup: Leicester battle to a well-deserved win over Toulon
Last Updated: 08/12/14 7:58am
Leicester fly-half Owen Williams kicked 20 points to help the Tigers beat Toulon 25-21 at Welford Rd on Sunday.
Toulon's hopes of exerting a vice-like grip on Pool Three in the European Champions Cup was extinguished after Welsh fly-half Williams booted six penalties and converted lock Brad Thorn's 19th-minute try.
Leicester ultimately prevailed, but they were made to sweat following an impressive Toulon revival from 13-0 adrift as wings Bryan Habana and Drew Mitchell claimed touchdowns, while fly-half Nicolas Sanchez landed three penalties and a conversion.
While the reigning European champions still top their group, courtesy of a losing bonus point, Leicester have moved themselves firmly into contention prior to next Saturday's return fixture at Stade Felix Mayol.
The Tigers were hugely impressive for parts of the game, yet Toulon capitalised on their mistakes with ruthless efficiency.
Leicester started strongly, forcing Toulon on the back foot, and a couple of half-chances in attack were followed by a successful Williams penalty after the visitors infringed at a scrum.
And there was no immediate let-up in terms of Leicester's intent, with Williams doubling their advantage through a second penalty awarded when Castrogiovanni charged shoulder-first into a ruck.
Referee Nigel Owens opted not to award a yellow card, but Toulon were rattled, and Leicester punished them with a try inside the opening quarter following full-back Mathew Tait's kick from deep.
Mitchell could not cope with the bounce, struggling to get his hands on the ball, and Leicester's support runners rapidly put him in further trouble as hooker Youngs gathered an off-load and delivered to a supporting 39-year-old Thorn.
Williams' conversion made it 13-0, and despite Sanchez kicking a 22nd-minute penalty, there was no disguising Leicester's dominance. And even when Toulon threatened after a Steffon Armitage break-out, Tigers skipper Ben Youngs covered superbly to snuff out any danger.
Toulon bounce back
Sanchez landed a second penalty, but Williams then turned villain, gifting Toulon an attacking opportunity when his ambitious long-range pass on halfway fell into Habana's hands. The Springbok flyer gathered possession on the bounce and sprinted clear to claim a try that Sanchez converted, wiping out the advantage that Leicester had worked so hard to achieve.
It was a case of starting from scratch for the Tigers after the break, having seen their early good work undone, and a third Williams penalty edged them back in front before the game's wholly unpredictable nature witnessed another twist.
On this occasion, Leicester's defence suffered a collective relapse from a scrum just outside their own 22, and scrum-half Sebastien Tillous-Borde capitalised to make an initial break and send Mitchell over unopposed.
Sanchez failed to land the wide-angled conversion, but Toulon were ahead for the first time before they began to utilise their bench by sending on prop Carl Hayman and half-back Eric Escande.
A fourth Williams penalty then edged Leicester back in front during a game of no obvious pattern, then he added another three points that was quickly cancelled out by Sanchez, which heralded a closing 10 minutes with the teams separated by just one point.
But it was the cue for Williams to administer one final blow, bisecting Toulon's posts from the halfway line and leave Pool Three very much in the melting pot.
