Great Matches: Stade Francais vs Leicester Tigers, Heineken Cup Final, 19th May 2001

Dean Richards’ Leicester Tigers dynasty take on a team helmed by the great Diego Dominguez…

The European Cup in rugby union, whether it be the Heineken Cup that lasted from 1996 to 2014, or the similarly titled and slightly different Heineken Champions Cup that exists today, offers fans of the sport the chance to see the best teams in northern hemisphere club rugby battle it out across the course of a single season, in between league encounters. Aside from the domestic leagues of the English Premiership, the French Top 14 or the Pro14, the European Cup can serve as the pinnacle of a team’s season. It is the battleground where the best teams and the best players in Europe face off in hard-fought competitive action.

Over the years, the Heineken Cup/Heineken Champions Cup has served as a representation of the dominance of a certain team across one or even multiple seasons. Across 25 seasons of European competition, twelve teams have managed to earn the name ‘European champions’. Seven of the twelve have won on more than one occasion, and many of these multiple victories have arrived close to one another. These victories have aided in establishing rugby dynasties, of which three will be discussed soon enough. However, it seems that to truly establish these rugby dynasties, a victory in a close-fought, high-scoring and highly-entertaining 80 minutes of rugby is required to prove the superiority of the victors. In 2001, one such example would play out as the reigning league champions of England and France would do battle at Paris’s Parc Des Princes for the chance to claim their first Heineken Cup trophy. On this day, the teams in question were the city’s local side Stade Francais and the dominant force of English domestic rugby, Leicester Tigers.

The build-up

Looking at both team’s route to the final, it is clear that the two teams walking out onto the Parisian turf on 19th May 2001 truly were the best of the best. While no side would emerge from the Heineken Cup pool stages with an unbeaten record, Stade Francais and Leicester Tigers, along with Irish champions Munster, would progress to the tournament’s knockout stages with the most impressive competitive records. Ahead of the quarter-finals, Stade and Leicester would be seeded 1st and 2nd based on their results during the pool stages. In their respective pools, both teams would end up with the same record of five wins and one defeat from their six matches to each qualify for the knockout stages as group winners.

Stade Francais had topped Pool 2 ahead of London Wasps, Swansea and Italian side L’Aquila. Aside from an 18-16 defeat away to Swansea in Round 2 and a tight 31-28 win over Wasps in Round 5, the Pink Army would dominate their pool, scoring 297 points in six matches and conceding just 85. 168 of these points would come in heavy victories over L’Aquila, first triumphing 92-7 in Paris before returning from Italy with a 76-9 win three months later. These two victories would also contribute to most of the 36 tries scored by Stade Francais during the pool stage, 21 more tries than any other team in the competition.

Pool 2

Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points
Stade Francais	6	5	0	1	297	85	10
Swansea	6	4	0	2	244	123	8
London Wasps	6	3	0	3	175	156	6
L’Aquila	6	0	0	6	40	392	0

In Pool 6, Leicester Tigers would mostly sail through a group containing Pontypridd, Glasgow Caledonians and French side Pau. Tigers would begin by taking maximum points from their opening two matches with Pau (46-18) and Glasgow (21-33). However, the team’s European momentum would be cut short with an 18-11 loss to Pontypridd in Week 3. The reverse fixture eight days later would see Dean Richards’ side prevail 27-19, and the team would finish Pool 6 with impressive additional victories over Pau (20-3) and Glasgow Caledonians (41-26). Across their six matches, Leicester Tigers would score 15 tries and 178 points, conceding 9 tries and 105 points.

Pool 6

Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points
Leicester Tigers	6	5	0	1	178	105	10
Pau	6	4	0	2	154	142	8
Pontypridd	6	2	0	4	136	131	4
Glasgow Caledonians	6	1	0	5	137	227	2

Entering the quarter-finals as the top two seeds, Stade Francais and Leicester Tigers would face the lowest seeds: Pau and Swansea, respectively. Despite Leicester and Stade dominantly topping their pools, Swansea and Pau would qualify from Pools 2 and 6 as the two best-performing runners-up. In the quarter-finals, Stade would dispatch their French league rivals Pau 36-19 but would be forced to work hard for their victory. An early try by winger Raphael Poulain would put the hosts ahead, but scores from Christophe Paille and David Aucagne would turn the tables in Pau’s favour. A close-fought first half would end with Stade scrum-half Christophe Laussucq piercing through a gap to cross the whitewash to put his team 17-10 ahead at the break. In the second half, four Diego Dominguez penalties plus a conversion for Franck Comba’s try would help the Parisian side pull away from their opponents to progress to the last four.

On the other side of the draw, Leicester Tigers would invite Stade Francais’s pool rivals Swansea to Welford Road. In front of 13,000 fans, Dean Richards’ side would dominate the match across the 80 minutes. Tigers would enter half-time with a 19-3 lead after four Tim Stimpson penalties and a 24th-minute try from 22-year-old winger Geordan Murphy. Then, two quick converted scores from Murphy and scrum-half Austin Healey just minutes after half-time would entirely kill off Swansea’s chances. A further try and drop goal by fly-half Andy Goode would serve as the icing on a commanding 41-10 Leicester Tigers victory. The respective victories for Stade Francais and Leicester Tigers would set up semi-final clashes with Munster (who had defeated Biarritz 38-29) and Gloucester (defeated Cardiff 21-15) respectively.

In the semi-finals of any major sporting competition, close games are normally on the menu, and the 2001 Heineken Cup semi-finals would not deviate from the norm. In the first semi-final, just one point would separate Stade Francais and Munster at the Stadium Nord in Lille. In the first half, a 33rd-minute try by Cliff Mytton would decide a first half dominated by the boots of Diego Dominguez and Ronan O’Gara in the French side’s favour, with Stade taking a 16-6 lead into half-time. In the second half, all the points would come from the team in red. An early O’Gara penalty would bring Munster back within a converted try, which they seemingly would score through winger John O’Neill in the 52nd minute. However, referee Chris White would disallow the try, alleging that O’Neill had fallen out of play before grounding the ball. However, in a time before the TMO would be in wide usage in club rugby, a TV replay shown after the referee’s decision would prove to the world that John O’Neill’s try was legal and should have been awarded by the ref and the touch judges on the field of play.

Feeling aggrieved by the decision, Munster would continue to strike through the boot of O’Gara, bringing the score back to 16-15 with two minutes remaining. However, 14-man Stade Francais, who had lost Christophe Dominici to the sin bin minutes earlier, would hold on to the slenderest of leads to advance to the Heineken Cup Final. Despite leading 16-6 at the halfway point, the French side did not score a single point in the entirety of the second half but still managed to hold on for the victory and place in the Heineken Cup final.

At the same time, the all-English semi-final of Leicester Tigers and Gloucester would play out at Vicarage Road. Despite seven league placings and 34 points separating them in the English Premiership standings, just four points would separate the two sides on this particular day in Watford. After two penalties apiece from Leicester’s Tim Stimpson and Gloucester’s Simon Mannix, the game would burst into life through centre Leon Lloyd’s try. A further Stimpson penalty would nudge Leicester seven points ahead at the break. The second period would see Gloucester trouble the English champions with Martin Johnson’s sin bin and three further Simon Mannix penalties putting Gloucester four points behind at 19-15. However, in a somewhat similar fashion to the match occurring 343 km away, Leicester Tigers would hold off the Cherry and Whites’ onslaught to join Stade Francais in the European Cup final.

Therefore on 19th May 2001 in front 44,000 at the Parc Des Princes, Europe’s two most impressive teams, Stade Francais and Leicester Tigers, would do battle for the opportunity to become European champions for the very first time. A victory for either side would result in a third victory for either France or England. A win for Stade Francais would see them follow in the footsteps of Toulouse (1996) and Brive (1997), while Leicester was hoping to match the feats of Bath (1998) and regional rivals Northampton Saints (2000). In their second final appearance, the Tigers and their coach Dean Richards would also be hoping to finally get their hands on the top prize in European rugby after falling short in their previous appearance in the showpiece event. In the second Heineken Cup final that took place on 25th January 1997, a Leicester side captained by Richards had fallen to a 28-9 defeat at the hands of Brive.

In 2001, returning players Austin Healey, Neil Back, Darren Garforth, Graham Rowntree, Richard Cockerill, Leon Lloyd and captain Martin Johnson would want to exorcise the demons of this loss while simultaneously looking to add European silverware to the English Premiership that they had won for the third successive season just weeks earlier.

Here’s how the two teams would line up on the day:

Stade Francais				Leicester Tigers
Christophe Dominici	15		15	Tim Stimpson
Thomas Lombard	14		14	Geordan Murphy
Franck Comba	13		13	Leon Lloyd
Cliff Mytton	12		12	Pat Howard
Arthur Gomes	11		11	Winston Stanley
Diego Dominguez	10		10	Andy Goode
Morgan Williams	9		9	Austin Healey
Sylvain Marconnet	1		1	Graham Rowntree
Fabrice Landreau	2		2	Dorian West
Pieter de Villiers	3		3	Darren Garforth
David Auradou	4		4	Martin Johnson (capt)
Mike James	5		5	Ben Kay
Christophe Moni	6		6	Martin Corry
Richard Pool-Jones	7		7	Neil Back
Christophe Juillet (capt)	8		8	Will Johnson
		Replacements
David Venditti	16 Centre		16 Centre	Glenn Gelderbloom
Patrik Tabacco	17 Flanker		17 Scrum-half	Jamie Hamilton
Mathieu Blin	18 Hooker		18 Hooker	Richard Cockerill
Pablo Lemoine	19 Number 8		19 Prop	Perry Freshwater
Darren George	20 Lock		20 Prop	Ricky Nebbett
Julien Berthe	21 Prop		21 Number 8	Paul Gustard
Christophe Laussucq	22 Scrum-half		22 Flanker	Lewis Moody
John Connolly		Coach		Dean Richards

With the final literally taking place across the road from their Stade Jean-Bouin home, it is no understatement to say that Stade Francais would head into the match with an advantage over their cross-channel opponents. After a frenetic opening, Stade fly-half Diego Dominguez would kick the first points of the final after 4 minutes by converting a 40-metre penalty. The resulting kick-off would see Stade concede an immediate penalty, and referee David McHugh would send hooker Fabrice Landreau to the sin-bin for the infringement. Leicester Tigers kicker Tim Stimpson would punish the 14 men just two minutes later, and the Tigers fullback would kick his team ahead in the 10th minute. However, in a tit-for-tat battle between the two kickers, soon Dominguez would have his turn to draw his team level in the 16th minute and put Stade back into the lead with another penalty after a missed drop goal attempt five minutes later.

In the 27th minute, a scrum penalty would allow the man with the metronomic boot to land a penalty from inside his own half to double Stade Francais’s lead at 12-6. However, Tim Stimpson would soon halve the French side’s advantage with his third penalty success just past the half-hour mark. Still, Dominguez would end the first period by powering another kick through the uprights to send both teams into the changing rooms, with Stade Francais leading Leicester Tigers 15-9. In a half that had seen both sides play with equal parts attacking flair and defensive muscle without managing to score a try, Stade Francais would go into half-time with their tails up, having possessed the greater discipline of the two teams.

If the first half had passed with neither club managing to score a try, it would take Leicester Tigers just 45 seconds of the second period to break that duck. Pat Howard’s perfectly weighted crossfield kick towards the right wing would find Geordan Murphy on the halfway line. Faced with three Stade Francais defenders, the Irish winger would make 15 metres before himself kicking through for Tigers outside centre Leon Lloyd to chase. Lloyd would use his superior speed to out-pace the Stade players, nudging the ball further before managing to ground the ball in the corner despite the attentions of flanker Christophe Moni. A spectacular try topped off by Lloyd putting his finger to his lips to quieten the partisan Parisian crowd. However, Tim Stimpson would miss the following conversion, meaning that Stade still led 15-14. However, Leicester Tigers had started the second half with a bang, with Lloyd’s try potentially a sign of things to come.

Despite Leicester’s try, frequent scrum infringement by the Tigers would allow Diego Dominguez to extend Stade Francais’s lead to four points at 19-14. However, the fly-half would also ruin his perfect record in front of the posts, missing from 30 metres. However, Stade would retain their faith in the boot of in the right boot of Dominguez and in the 46th minute, the Italian international would settle home nerves with a sixth successful penalty after Tigers captain Martin Johnson repeatedly struck a Stade forward in the face, with referee David McHugh sending the England captain to the sin-bin for the next 10 minutes. However, despite now possessing the man advantage, Stade would not score another point during Johnson’s time off the field. During this period, Dominguez would attempt a drop goal 40 metres out on the left wing, but his ambitious effort would across the face of the Leicester posts and wide of the target. However, just as Martin Johnson was making his way back onto the field, Leicester would concede a kickable penalty. Dominguez would duly convert to extend Stade Francais’s advantage to seven points, equal to a converted try. However, Leicester Tigers would get that converted try soon enough.

After turning over possession just outside their 22, Leicester quickly spread the ball out towards the right wing, where Leon Lloyd would break. The centre looked like he would score his second try of the match only for fullback Christophe Dominici to shepherd him into touch around 15 metres from the Stade Francais line, with his hopeful kick forwards caught by Stade centre Franck Comba. However, instead of touching the ball down for a Stade Francis 22m restart, Comba would toy with the Leicester players, threatening to counter-attack before retreating behind the try-line. Fed up with his antics, Tigers fly-half Andy Goode would manage to wrestle the ball from his grasp and pass the ball back to his teammates to restart the Leicester attack five metres from the opposition try-line. Two phases of play later, openside flanker Neil Back, deputising at scrum-half, would sneak through a gap to score Leicester’s second try of the final. Tim Stimpson would convert the try, drawing the Tigers level on the scoresheet at 21-21 with 20 minutes remaining in the match. Stade Francais had ceded their seven-point lead, all because of the stupidity of one Franck Comba.

In the 64th minute, Tim Stimpson would chip the ball through the Stade Francais defence, only for Stade’s English flanker Richard Pool-Jones to trip the fullback and concede a penalty. After spending time on the ground receiving treatment, Stimpson would pick himself up and knock over an easy penalty to put Leicester 24-21 ahead. However, frustratingly for coach Dean Richards, the Tigers would give away a penalty soon after the next kick-off, allowing Diego Dominguez to quickly draw Stade Francais level. Three minutes later, following a line break from Christophe Dominici and Leicester verging offside, Dominguez would nail another penalty (36m), moving Stade Francais into a 27-24 lead with nine minutes remaining. After this kick, Leicester Tigers coach Dean Richards would take off starting fly-half Andy Goode, replacing him with scrum-half Jamie Hamilton. The effect of this substitution saw starting scrum-half Austin Healey move to fly-half, with Hamilton taking up his former position. Soon afterwards, Tim Stimpson would convert a long-range penalty (47m) to bring the score back to 27-27.

However, in the 77th minute, with Stade Francais beginning to make in-roads into the Leicester 22, scrum-half Morgan Williams would swing the ball back to Diego Dominguez. Twenty-five metres away from the posts, Dominguez would again attempt a drop goal. However, on this occasion, Dominguez would successfully send the ball sailing between the posts. With this act of opportunism, the Italian had put his team into the lead once more, with the score standing at 30-27 with three minutes remaining on the clock.

Knowing that Leicester Tigers would need to score a try to win the match, Dean Richards would make another key substitution, bringing on centre Glenn Gelderbloom for Geordan Murphy. Gelderbloom would move into the centres alongside Pat Howard, with Leon Lloyd moving out to the right wing. In the 79th minute, a Leicester line-out 10 metres into the Stade Francais half would fall into the hands of Neil Back. Back would quickly swing the ball out to Austin Healey, now playing at fly-half. Receiving the ball on the halfway line, Healey would feign a pass before darting through a gap between two Stade forwards. Healey would carry the ball into the 22 before quickly offloading the ball to Leon Lloyd sitting on his shoulder. Lloyd would sprint for the corner with two Stade Francais defenders closing him down, managing to ground the ball before Christophe Dominici could roll him out of play.

As with Lloyd’s first try, Tim Stimpson was tasked with landing a difficult kick to convert an excellent Leicester Tigers try. However, Stimpson’s kick was on the right-hand touchline on Stade’s 22-metre line, with the angle of the kick increasing that distance to over 42m. Faced with an incredibly tight angle, Stimpson would twin power and accuracy, lifting the ball up, across and between the posts. With seconds left, Leicester Tigers now led Stade Francais 34-30.

Knowing they would now need a try to win the match, Stade Francais would manage to reach Leicester’s 22 only to concede a penalty directly in front of the posts. Tim Stimpson would kick the ball out of play, and the Leicester Tigers players would start to celebrate. Unused substitutes, non-playing squad members, and coaching staff alike would flood onto the Parc des Princes to congratulate their teammates. For the third time in four years, an English team had won the Heineken Cup. After Bath in 1998 and Northampton Saints in 2000, now it was the turn of Leicester Tigers to be crowned European champions. After some celebration, the Leicester Tigers players would make their way onto a balcony stationed in the stands a few metres above the pitch. Once there, Tigers players Darren Garforth and Neil Back would lift the Heineken Cup together, confirming Leicester Tigers as the champions of Europe for the very first time. The team had successfully done the double: adding the Heineken Cup to the Zurich Premiership, which they had successfully retained a month earlier.

Final Score: Stade Francais 30 Leicester Tigers 34

At the Parc des Princes on 19th May 2001, Stade Francais and Leicester Tigers would combine to score 64 points in 80 minutes of rugby, producing the best Heineken Cup final to that point. Leicester would score three tries compared to Stade Francais’s zero but would only win the final by a margin of four points. Two tries from Leon Lloyd and a third from Neil Back plus 19 points from the boot of kicker Tim Stimpson (five penalties, two conversions) would help Leicester achieve the victory, but one player on the opposite side of the field would push them all the way for the entire match. Stade Francais would score thirty points across the full 80 minutes, with all thirty points coming from fly-half Diego Dominguez. In a masterclass from the Italy international, he would score ten penalty kicks and a drop goal to continually keep the scoreboard ticking over, making sure that nearly every Stade Francais attack inside the Leicester half was rewarded with points. Despite Leicester Tigers victory, there is no argument that Dominguez was the man of the match.

However, the truth remains that the sport of rugby union had new European champions. After three consecutive English league titles, Dean Richards and his Leicester Tigers team had become a dynasty by winning the Heineken Cup. One year later, the Tigers would find themselves in another Heineken Cup Final against Irish giants Munster. That final, the subject of a future article, would become memorable for different reasons.