MONTPELLIER 14 – 15 LEICESTER TIGERS

Vereniki Goneva scored with just 40 seconds left on the clock to steal victory for Leicester Tigers away at Montpellier in Round 4 of the Heineken Cup.

Montpellier had led for most of the second half, after Enzo Selponi and Lucas Dupont had both crossed the line to snuff out Leicester’s earlier score from Tom Youngs, but Goneva’s last gasp try, coolly converted by Ryan Lamb, allowed Tigers to complete the double over the French outfit, having won 41-32 at Welford Road last weekend.

The first half of the match passed by scoreless, with neither side taking advantage of their attacking opportunities. Both were eager to go on the offence, opting to kick for touch as opposed to the posts when awarded with penalties, but the clinical edge they had displayed in the reverse fixture was noticeably lacking.

Leicester winger Miles Benjamin was sin-binned for a late block on Benoit Paillaugue, but Montpellier could not capitalise and the half ended at 0-0.

The Tigers were first to break the deadlock 10 minutes into the second period, with Tom Youngs powering over after being played into a gap by his brother, Ben. Toby Flood failed to convert, and the captain would soon be replaced by Ryan Lamb, who signed from Northampton Saints in the summer.

Montpellier responded quickly – Benoit Paillaugue broke out and spun a one-handed offload to fellow half-back Enzo Selponi for the try, which was successfully converted by Paillaugue.

The action slowed down as both sides rolled on their substitutes to refresh the game. Shortly after one hour had gone, Montpellier extended their lead, with Lucas Dupont touching down following a powerful bursting run from Georgian flanker Mamuka Gorgodze. The conversion was landed, this time by Eric Escande, and Montpellier led 14-5.

Leicester, however, were not deterred and showed fantastic character to launch a comeback. With 10 minutes remaining, Ryan Lamb slotted a penalty from 40 metres out to close the deficit by three.

Then, in the final moments of the match, the Tigers backs rapidly worked the ball to the right-hand side, and with almost no space left, former Fijian 7s star Vereniki Goneva squeezed in and intelligently waited until he had run under the posts before grounding the ball.

At 14-13, the pressure was on for Lamb to make the conversion, but the replacement fly-half was unaffected and kicked between the posts with ease, earning Leicester the all-important four points.

The win allowed the Tigers to close the gap on Pool 5 leaders Ulster, with three points to catch up in two remaining games. That said, it was another stellar performance from Leicester, demonstrating their resolve in order to secure a difficult victory.