Acting head coach Richard Cockerill has praised Julien Dupuy's 'world-class' try that secured Leicester a Heineken Cup semi-final place.
Performance could have been better says Leicester boss.
Leicester's acting head coach Richard Cockerill has paid tribute to Julien Dupuy's 'world-class' try that sent Bath crashing out of the Heineken Cup on Saturday.
With the score tied on 15 points apiece, Dupuy crossed in the dying seconds with a brilliant individual effort to set up a semi-final showdown with Cardiff Blues.
Cockerill said that while it he did not think it the best he has seen from Leicester he was happy with his side's overall performance.
"I don't think it was a classic performance from us," he said. "But I thought we kept in there, we kept the ball well, put pressure on them.
"Sam Vesty kicked exceptionally well and Dupuy's bit of magic at the end was as good as it gets. It was a world-class finish.
"Julien put some pace on the game against some tired defenders. He is one of the best players in the world at what he does. Even when he made the break he still had some work to do."
Unsettled.
Cockerill also confirmed that Dupuy would remain at Leicester next season despite the player considering a possible return to France
"He is under contract," he added. "His girlfriend is a little bit unsettled.
"She is back in France and if all things were equal he would like to go back there.
"But we have had some very amicable conversations and we will make it as easy as possible for him to come and go but he will be here next year."
Cockerill admitted that last minute changes to his back line after Toby Flood failed a fitness test on a dead leg just an hour before kick-off had some caused problems
"We didn't play well enough," he said. "Sam Vesty stood up at 10 at late notice. Danny Hipkiss stood in at 12 when he is a 13 and at times you could see our shape wasn't great
"Both sides tried to play. We just weren't good enough to execute what we wanted to do. We could have easily lost the game.
Battle
"Did we deserve to win? It could have gone either way. All our games this year against Bath have been the same.
"I am happier to go to Cardiff than Toulouse, to be fair, but they are unbeaten in the tournament and they are doing some really good things under Dai Young.
"They have got to be respected but we are a good team too."
For Bath boss Steve Meehan the focus is now on the battle for a place in the Guinness Premiership semi-finals.
"If we play like that we will give ourselves every opportunity of moving forward," he said.
