Leicester secure victory in France

Defending Heineken Cup champions Leicester secured a valuable 24-12 away victory at Beziers.

Second-half tries from centre Ollie Smith and winger Leon Lloyd split the two sides and put Leicester in the driving seat in the push for a place in the quarter-finals.

They lead the pool with five points after two wins and a draw, with Beziers now relegated to second with four points. The French side need to win next weekend's return match at Welford Road to stay in touch.

Referee Alan Lewis made an early impact on the match, sending Leicester winger Freddie Tuilagi to the sin-bin in the 16th minute for a high tackle on Beziers captain Pierre Mignoni.

Seven minutes later, Lewis sent home prop Tariel Ratianadze to join Tuilagi for foul play.

Beziers made much of the play in the opening spell, but promising moves fell apart at the lineout, with the French side losing three consecutive throw-ins in the Leicester 22.

Outside-half Jean-Frederic Dubois kicked two penalty goals to give Beziers a 6-3 lead at the break, with Tigers full-back and Irishman Geordan Murphy scoring the visitors' points.

Murphy's third penalty goal levelled the scores at 9-9 on the hour mark after Beziers' Angus Gardiner was sin-binned for killing the ball.

The one-man advantage proved vital when Murphy broke the deadline by making a break down the left touchline. A clever inside pass gave Smith a simple run to the line.

Replacement goal-kicker Gonzalo Quesada narrowed the margin to two points with a penalty goal, but a try in the corner to Lloyd in the 76th minute - converted by Murphy - put the issue beyond doubt.

Lloyd scored a cheeky 84th-minute dropped goal from centre Rod Kafer to put the icing on the cake.