Leicester brought to their knees

WAS this one match too many for Leicester? In a season that ended with several consecutive big games, all of them knockout games, hugely physical games, games that went to the wire – even beyond, on one notable occasion, the extra-time/extra-time penalty shootout Heineken Cup semi-final win over Cardiff Blues – was this a bridge too far for the Tigers?

No, said second-row Tom Croft. “I don’t think so, I think we had the players to win that game. I don’t think it was a matter of being too physical, of being beyond us; we didn’t play like we’ve played all season, didn’t play to our potential – if we had, we could have won that game, but we didn’t.”

No, echoed prop forward Julian White: “To be fair, we probably haven’t played our best rugby over those few weeks. This wasn’t a step too far, we’ve got plenty of time off now – people say it was a long season but ultimately this is what you play for, days like this. It was a long season for Leinster as well but they won; Leicester have a great tradition, we’re used to these demands at the end of the season – you can’t make that excuse. We wanted this win as much as we’ve ever wanted a win, we were denied on the day – that’s the way it goes.”