Hipkiss saves Leicester

Ospreys 15 Leicester 17

Super-sub Dan Hipkiss got Leicester out of jail with a dramatic late try that kept alive their Heineken Cup quarter-final hopes.

Hipkiss’ 84th-minute score was converted by fly-half Andy Goode with the game’s final kick after the Ospreys dominated for long periods.

Leicester will march on if they win their final two Pool Three games – against Stade Francais and Clermont Auvergne next month – but the shell-shocked Ospreys are out.

Until Hipkiss struck, the game was tinged by a controversial first-half incident that could see Wales star Gavin Henson in disciplinary trouble.

Grand Slam hero Henson, making his first appearance at the Liberty Stadium after recovering from groin surgery, was involved in a 19th-minute skirmish with Tigers’ French prop Alex Moreno.

Moreno’s swinging arm caught Henson, whose elbow-led reaction caused the prop a nasty facial wound. When Moreno hit the floor, golden-booted Henson then appeared to aim a kick at him that did not connect.

Match citing commissioner, Scotsman Bill Dunlop, seems certain to review the episode, and it could conceivably result in Henson facing a disciplinary hearing less than seven weeks before Wales launch their RBS 6 Nations campaign against world champions England at Twickenham.

Moreno returned to the action, but only after two spells of treatment that forced him off for almost 20 minutes.

The Ospreys unlocked Tigers’ normally watertight defence through tries from captain Barry Williams and fly-half Shaun Connor, while Connor added a conversion and penalty.

Wing Leon Lloyd claimed a second-half touchdown before Hipkiss pounced, with Goode slotting a penalty and two conversions.

Leicester’s technical indiscipline haunted them throughout, and at one stage of the second period they were reduced to 13 men when England internationals Ollie Smith and Louis Deacon received yellow cards in quick succession.

Apart from the sin-binnings, Leicester also saw England scrum-half Harry Ellis limp off injured before half-time, but they had character to turn things around through a stunning late burst.

Tigers coach Pat Howard made two changes following last weekend’s 30-12 grounding of the Ospreys, calling up England wing Tom Varndell and Irish lock Leo Cullen, while Geordan Murphy switched to full-back, with Sam Vesty dropping out.

Leicester, despite their impressive pedigree of successive European titles in 2001 and 2002, had only recorded one previous Heineken Cup victory in Wales – a comfortable win against Newport Gwent Dragons two years ago.

Henson and Ospreys coach Lyn Jones lit the fuse for a potentially explosive return encounter by accusing Leicester of cheating at Welford Road, allegations that would undoubtedly have done Tigers captain Martin Corry’s team talk for him.

The early flurries were inevitably full-on, and Ospreys scrum-half Jason Spice was fortunate to escape a yellow card when he stamped all over Tigers prop Moreno at a ruck in the shadow of Leicester’s posts.

Referee Alain Rolland opted for a stern lecture instead, but the Ospreys had wasted a promising attacking position created by wing Richard Mustoe’s incisive midfield running.

Connor, having missed an easy eighth-minute penalty, found his range from 40 metres six minutes later to leave Leicester reflecting on an opening quarter when they comfortably lost the territorial battle.

The real talking point though, was Henson’s spat with Moreno, an incident that forced the Frenchman off to be replaced by Graham Rowntree.

A groggy Moreno exited for treatment, and Rolland issued a general warning to rival skippers Corry and Williams just two minutes later as the game simmered ominously ahead of Tigers fly-half Goode slotting an equalising penalty.

Moreno was off for 14 minutes before he returned to the action, but Leicester immediately suffered a double injury blow when Ellis limped off and Moreno departed for a second time when his nose began bleeding profusely again.

Austin Healey took over from Ellis, marking his 50th Heineken Cup appearance with an earlier-than-expected entry, and Rowntree replaced Moreno as half-time approached.

As they had done against Stade Francais two months ago though, the Ospreys struck by posting an injury-time try.

Lock Ian Evans charged towards the Leicester posts from a lineout after flanker James Bater’s excellent approach work, and Williams crashed over for Connor to convert and leave Tigers 10-3 adrift at the break.

Moreno attempted another comeback in the second-half, but Leicester soon had a Herculean task on their hands.

Smith was sin-binned for interfering with play from an offside position, and before Tigers could regroup, Ospreys ran the resulting penalty and Connor dived over in the corner to make it 15-3.

Deacon then followed Smith into the cooler, just two minutes after going on as a replacement for Ben Kay, but Leicester managed to quell an attacking Ospreys scrum with just seven forwards.

Lloyd’s try gave Leicester hope they could retrieve the game, yet Deacon’s reckless stamp at a ruck could have seen Tigers finish the game a man short, but Rolland decided against sending him off – then Hipkiss struck.