Fly-half George Ford landed a late penalty to help secure a memorable win in France for Leicester Tigers, along with carrying over their unbeaten form from the Gallagher Premiership into European competition
Saturday 11 December 2021 17:43, UK
George Ford's late penalty ensured Leicester Tigers took their unbeaten domestic form into Europe as they won 16-13 away to Bordeaux Begles.
The sides were deadlocked at 10-10 at the break in Saturday's Heineken Champions Cup clash, with Guy Porter and Jean-Baptiste Dubie crossing for converted tries on either side and both teams having had a man sent to the sin bin.
Maxime Lucu put Bordeaux ahead for the first time with a penalty soon after the restart, but Ford, who finished with 11 points to his name, slotted over two as the Tigers managed to hold out for the win despite late pressure from the Top 14 high-flyers.
Bordeaux wasted no time in taking the lead, with Lucu knocking over a penalty from 40 metres out after a mere three minutes.
Following a hectic opening quarter of an hour, Ford levelled the scores for Leicester with a simple penalty after Tommy Reffell had put the visitors on the front foot with a strong carry, forcing the hosts to infringe at the breakdown.
Bordeaux were then temporarily reduced to 14 men, with former Australia international Kane Douglas sent to the sin bin for a swinging arm to the head of Calum Green.
Leicester made the most of their numerical advantage as Ford drew in Cameron Woki before offloading to Bryce Hegarty who sliced open the Bordeaux defence. Hegarty charged towards the line before putting Porter over for the try, which Ford converted.
The Tigers' pack were now in the ascendancy too, with their scrum and lineout putting Bordeaux under a severe amount of pressure.
But after laying siege to the Bordeaux try line, Ford opted for a cross-kick and Hosea Saumaki ended up taking Nans Ducuing out in the air, leaving referee Andrew Brace with no option but to show the Leicester winger a yellow card.
That proved to be a momentum shift as Bordeaux ended the half with the wind in their sails. First, Italy international Federico Mori raced clear into the Leicester 22 to give the hosts a strong attacking position.
Then, after a period of sustained pressure, Bordeaux centre Moram Falatea-Moefana carried forward before executing a perfect offload to put Dubie over for the try. Lucu added the extras to level at 10-10 going into half-time.
Leicester had a try disallowed in the early stages of the second half, with Porter knocking the ball forward before the line, meaning Harry Potter's grounding was null and void.
Ford missed a penalty for the Tigers and kicked straight out on the full which handed the momentum back to the hosts, and Lucu edged Bordeaux in front for the first time with a successful penalty.
Bordeaux put Leicester under severe pressure but could not take advantage. The visitors forced their way back into the Bordeaux 22 and their scrum earned a penalty which allowed Ford to level with 10 minutes remaining - and then knock over a penalty from more than 40 metres out to put the Tigers back in front.
Bordeaux turned down a kickable penalty to level the scores with the last play of the game, but they refused to accept the draw and went for the corner. After a few powerful carries, however, they were penalised and Leicester came out on
top.
