Leicester 16-man crusade an unedifying spectacle
But the Leicester board’s seemingly desperate attempts to force their way back into the competition, by employing a firm of lawyers and demanding a replay, is unedifying.
It is clear something went wrong at the Liberty Stadium, when Lee Byrne returned from the bloodbin without his temporary replacement Sonny Parker leaving the field.
During that 55-second period, Byrne tackled Leicester scrum-half Ben Youngs to halt the Tigers’ best attacking move of the second-half.
The Ospreys went on to win 17-12 and Leicester, the three-time European champions, had failed to qualify from the pool stages.
But there were no complaints from Leicester’s own director of rugby Richard Cockerill, who conceded his side had simply not been good enough. The Tigers had also been thumped by Clermont Auvergne earlier in the group.
“We were beaten fair and square. I am a lover of the game and I am sure it was a mistake by somebody,” he said. Cockerill’s post-match stand was honourable. With the adrenalin and frustration pumping, he could have been forgiven for mouthing off
Leicester are one of the heaviest hitters in the European game and to miss out on the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup is a significant blow, both in rugby and financial terms.
Not so the Leicester board. Tigers chairman Peter Tom and chief executive Peter Wheeler were both wheeled out after the match to make it clear that Leicester would be submitting an official complaint.
Given the tournament rules, Leicester had to raise the point before the officials could look into the incident so their actions, to that end, were justified.
Tournament regulations state the result must stand. There is a precedent of sorts from the 2003 World Cup, when England briefly had 16 men on the field against Samoa and ended up with a fine.
But that has not stopped Leicester from engaging expensive lawyers in the hope of forcing a replay.
“We want what is right and fair for that situation. The only way to put us back in that situation is to replay the game,” said Wheeler.
The Ospreys and Byrne have been called to face a European Rugby Cup Ltd disciplinary hearing in Dublin today after being hit with misconduct complaints.
If Byrne is found guilty and banned from any of Wales’ RBS 6 Nations campaign it would be extraordinarily harsh. The Ospreys, like England were in 2003, could well be fined.
That seems the most likely scenario because, despite Leicester’s hopes of a replay, even a one-point deduction for the Ospreys would thrown the Heineken Cup into chaos.
The quarter-final draw was completed last weekend and the fixture schedule for the knockout stages is now in place.
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