 The match took place atTwickenham Stadium. | |||||||
| Event | 2006–07 Heineken Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Date | 20 May 2007 | ||||||
| Venue | Twickenham Stadium,London | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Fraser Waters (London Wasps) | ||||||
| Referee | Alan Lewis (Ireland) | ||||||
| Attendance | 81,076 | ||||||
←2006 2008 → | |||||||
The2007 Heineken Cup Final was arugby union match played atTwickenham Stadium in London, England, on 20 May 2007 to determine the winners of the2006–07 Heineken Cup, European rugby's premier club competition. It was contested by English clubsLeicester Tigers andLondon Wasps. It was the12th Heineken Cup final overall, and the third to be contested by two teams from the same nation, after the finals of2003 and2005, both of which were all-French affairs. It was Leicester's fourth appearance in the final, following a defeat in1997 and back-to-back victories in2001 and2002. Wasps were competing in their second final, three years after their last appearance in2004, also at Twickenham, which was hosting the final for the third time after2000 and 2004.
Each club needed to progress through the group stage and two knockout rounds to reach the final, playing eight matches in total. Wasps and Tigers each won their respective groups to qualify for the quarter-finals. Wasps advanced to the final after defeating Irish sideLeinster in the quarter-finals and fellow English clubNorthampton Saints in the semi-final. Tigers made the final after wins over French sideStade Français in the quarter-finals and theLlanelli Scarlets Welsh regional side in their semi-final.Alan Lewis was the referee for the match, which was played in front of a crowd of 81,076 – a world record for a club rugby union match – and broadcast worldwide in more than 100 countries.
The first score of the match came from Wasps'Alex King, who kicked apenalty in the 4th minute, butAndy Goode equalised for Tigers with another penalty three minutes later. Wasps went back in front thanks to atry from scrum-halfEoin Reddan in the 13th minute, only for King to miss theconversion. Tigers reduced the deficit to two points with a quarter of an hour gone, when Goode scored his second penalty following an infringement byFraser Waters onLewis Moody, butRaphaël Ibañez extended Wasps' lead with their second try in the 34th minute, only for King to again miss the conversion. A third penalty for Goode two minutes from half-time meant Wasps led 13–9 at the interval. In the second half, three penalties and adrop goal from King, unanswered by Leicester, ensured Wasps won the game 25–9 and their second Heineken Cup.
TheHeineken Cup, European rugby's premier club competition,[1] was established by the Five Nations Committee in 1995 to provide a new level of professional cross-border rugby competition. Clubs from thePremiership Rugby,Pro14,Super 10 and theTop 14 leagues qualified for the competition based on their performance in their respective national leagues.[2]
The 2007 final was the last match of the 2006–07 Heineken Cup and the 12thfinal of the Heineken Cup.[3] It was the first time in the competition's 12-year history that two English clubs would play each other in the final.[4] This wasLondon Wasps' second Heineken Cup final and their first since beatingToulouse 27–20 in the2004 final.Leicester Tigers had conversely appeared in three previous finals, the most recent being the2002 final when they defeated Munster 15–9.[3] The two sides had met each other in the competition twice before in December 2004. Leicester Tigers had won each of their two meetings in the2004–05 Heineken Cup pool stage.[5] Tigers won the two fixtures between the two clubs in the2006–07 Premiership Rugby 19–13 atAdams Park in November 2006 and 40–26 atWelford Road Stadium in April 2007.[6] It was the Tigers' third cup final of the season; they had won the2006–07 EDF Energy Cup and the 2006–07 Premiership Rugby. This meant that the club were aiming to achieve the first treble in English rugby union history.[7]
The2006–07 Heineken Cup featured 24 teams from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy who were assigned into six groups of four each. Teams were awarded four points for a win, two for a draw and bonuses were given to clubs scoring four of moretries or losing by seven or fewer points. The winners of each of the six groups as well as the two highest-placed runners-up qualified for the quarter-finals. The four quarter-final winners made the semi-finals which decided the two teams who would face each other in the final.[8]
Wasps were assigned to the first pool along withBenetton Treviso,Castres andPerpignan.[9] Wasps won their first match 19–16 at home at Adams Park on 21 October 2006,[10] but were defeated 19–12 by Perpignan in their first away fixture of the pool atStade Aimé Giral a week later.[11] The club's third pool match saw themwhitewash Treviso 55–0 in poor weather at Adams Park on 10 December 2006 with a Heineken Cup club-record nine tries and five conversions.[12] The result gave Wasps enough points to usurp Castres atop the pool table.[13] The return fixture atStadio Comunale di Monigo six days later saw Wasps defeat Treviso 71–5 with a club-record eleven tries and eight conversions to go one point atop the pool table ahead of Perpignan.[14] Wasps' fifth pool game saw the club beating Perpignan 22–14 at Adams Park and needing to win their final match to qualify for the knockout stages.[15] They were able to reach the quarter-finals in their final pool game with a 16–13 victory over Castres atStade Pierre-Antoine one week later.[16]
In the quarter-finals, Wasps were drawn to playLeinster and the match was played at Adams Park on 31 March 2007. Wasps made but ultimately withdrew a request to host the match at a larger ground so they could receive more gate receipts.[17] TwoAlex King penalties and one conversion andEoin Reddan's try gave Wasps the lead.Chris Whitaker's try andFelipe Contepomi's try and conversion for Leinster made it 13–10 to Wasps at half-time. Second-half tries fromJames Haskell,Daniel Cipriani and Reddan as well as a penalty and conversion from King ensured Wasps won the match 35–13 to make the semi-finals.[18] In the semi-final, played atRicoh Arena on 22 April 2007, Wasps faced fellow Premiership Rugby sideNorthampton Saints. A try, conversion and two penalties all scored byBruce Reihana put Saints 13–0 ahead before Wasps won the match 30–13 and progression to the final with scoring byPaul Sackey, Haskell,Mark van Gisbergen andJosh Lewsey.[19]
Leicester Tigers were drawn into the fourth pool along with Munster,Cardiff Blues andBourgoin.[9] Tigers lost their first match of the pool 19–21 toMunster at home atWelford Road Stadium on 22 October, ending the side's 26-match unbeaten record at home.[20] The team won their following match 21–17 away to Cardiff Blues atMillennium Stadium a week later.[21] Tigers' third pool game, held on 8 December 2006 atStade Pierre Rajon in heavy rain forcing a pitch inspection, was against the yet-to-win Bourgoin. They led Bourgoin 28–3 at half time with three tries and penalties as well as two conversions. Although Bourgoin scored 10 points in the second half, Tigers won 28–13 and claimed their second victory in succession at an away venue.[22][23] The return fixture at Welford Road eight days later saw Tigers defeat Bourgoin 57–3 with eight tries, seven conversions and one penalty.[24] Tigers' second match against Cardiff Blues, this time at Welford Road on 13 January 2007, saw the side score six tries and twoIan Humphreys conversions in a 34–0 victory to set up a final match decider with Munster atThomond Park the following week.[25] Tigers beat Munster 13–6 to end Munster's 26-match unbeaten home record in the Heineken Cup and qualify for the quarter-finals.[26]
In the quarter-finals, Tigers playedStade Français at home on 1 April 2007. Tigers took the lead inside three minutes whenSeru Rabeni scored a try. Penalties from Stade'sDavid Skrela and aJuan Martín Hernández try tied the match 11–11 at half-time. In the second half, Skrela scored a penalty from 35 metres (38 yd) to put Stade in the lead equalled byAndy Goode for Tigers seven minutes later. Skrela's subsequent penalty anddrop kick from 40 metres (44 yd) put Stade 20–14 ahead. On 72 minutes,Tom Varndell scored a try under the goal post that was converted by Goode for Tigers to win 21–20 and make the semi-finals.[27][28] In the semi-final held atWalkers Stadium on 21 April 2007, Tigers playedLlanelli Scarlets. Tigers took a 16–10 lead before half-time through points all accumulated by Goode. In the second half, aMatthew Rees try converted byStephen Jones gave Scarlets a 17–16 advantage. Tries byShane Jennings andLouis Deacon that were each converted by Goode betwixt a Goode penalty saw Tigers win 33–17 and qualify for the final.[29]
In April 2006,European Rugby Cup (ERC), the organisers of the Heineken Cup, awarded the right to host the 2007 final toTwickenham Stadium in South West London.[30] It was the third time the stadium had hosted the Heineken Cup final. Twickenham had previously staged the2000 Heineken Cup Final between Northampton Saints and Munster, which Northampton won 9–8, and the 2004 Heineken Cup Final.[31] The referee for the match wasAlan Lewis, representing theIrish Rugby Football Union (IRFU). It would be the first time the 42-year-old Lewis would officiate a Heineken Cup final although he had refereed theEuropean Challenge Cup finals of 2002 and 2005.[32] Lewis' assistants wereAlain Rolland, andSimon McDowell, also representing the IRFU.[33] The fourth official wasPeter Fitzgibbon, also from the IRFU.[5] The IRFU's David McHugh was thetelevision match official. Douglas Hunter and Richard McGhee of theScotland Rugby Union (SRU) were theciting and match commissioners.[33] Both clubs sold out their 9,500 ticket allocation distributed to their supporters. A total of 56,000 tickets were sold to the general public and 7,000 were allocated to ERC's European rugby stakeholders.[34] The match was broadcast worldwide in more than 100 countries.[35]
This was the last match for both coachPat Howard and centreDaryl Gibson at Tigers, who were replaced byMarcelo Loffreda andAaron Mauger respectively.[36]Shaun Edwards, a Wasps coach, called the match "the biggest game ever between Wasps and Leicester and the biggest club rugby match ever in the world since the sport began 100 years ago" and that his team did not need internal motivation "because it's Wasps versus Leicester."[37] He added: "If we allow ourselves to be bullied, we'll get what we deserve. If we can't handle Tuilagi or Seru Rabeni then we're in trouble."[38]Paul Sackey, a winger for Wasps, said before the match that his team would be inspired by their2006–07 Premiership Rugby final day defeat to Tigers and felt they could equal their physical strength: "Talking Leicester up is half a bonus for us because we're the underdogs. We're really disappointed we haven't got any silverware yet this year and that motivates us even more."[39] Tigers captainMartin Corry did not wish to make a comparison with his team's Premiership win to potential events at Twickenham, saying: "We will enjoy the victory and enjoy lifting the trophy, but we will make sure that come Monday we're all focusing completely on Wasps."[40]
Tigers were considered favourites to win the final by bookmakers.[41][42] Wasps fly-half King had recovered from a knee andhamstring injury sustained on the final day of the Premiership Rugby season three weeks earlier to be selected amongst the club's starting lineup.[43] Gibson was returned to the centre position, replacingOllie Smith.[44]Phil Vickery was due to move to loose head prop since no replacement was found for the injuredTim Payne,[44] but instead played at tight head to accommodate the inclusion ofTom French, who replacedPeter Bracken in the front row.[41]Josh Lewsey played in centre in place ofDominic Waldouck,[44] who was put onto the substitutes bench.[45] Tigers registered no scrum half covers for the fixture.[46] They were without scrum halfHarry Ellis who, during the 2006–07 Premiership Rugby semi-final, sustained ananterior cruciate ligament rupture in his left knee, requiring reconstructive surgery.[47]Ian Humphreys was named to the substitutes bench in place ofBen Youngs, who was ineligible to play in European matches.[44] The club were withoutMartín Castrogiovanni who was sidelined with a sprained right knee.[48][49]
Goode commenced the match in hot weather at 14:30 British Summer Time (UTC+01:00) on 20 May 2007,[7][50] in front of a crowd of 81,076 spectators,[51] a world record crowd for a rugby union club fixture.[a][53] After eight seconds, Tigers were awarded aturnover after Wasps' Lewsey fouledFrank Murphy.[51] Wasps earned twopenalties in quick succession due to infringements by Tigers.[41] For each, King elected to attempt a kick at goal, and was successful in his second attempt slightly to the left of the goal from 22 metres (24 yd) on four minutes.[5] The match was temporarily interrupted on five minutes when King needed treating following an attempted incorrect tackle onLewis Moody. After seven minutes, Tigers earned apenalty kick afterLawrence Dallaglio was adjudged to have been on the incorrect side of the tackle area. Goode kicked the ball between the goal posts to equalise at 3–3. A third penalty was awarded to Wasps when Tigers were deemed to have come on the side. King's wide shot from the left struck the left upright of the goalpost.[5][41] On 13 minutes,[54]Raphaël Ibañez looked at his choice for a short-rangeline-out,[55] and Reddan collected his underarm pass from a short distance.[51][53][56] Reddan ran 20 metres (22 yd) unchallenged to the left-hand corner and scored a try to make it 8–3 to Wasps.[50][56]
King's attempt to convert the try went across the posts.[41] Two minutes later,Fraser Waters blocked Moody as the former tried to protectJoe Worsley at the kick-off in front of the referee and the goal posts.[5][41][51] The result earned Tigers a penalty kick, which was scored by Goode for his second of the match to make it 8–6.[54][55] Wasps received another penalty after 18 minutes when Corry was reprimanded by Lewis for not moving away from the ball. King's penalty kick was a weak effort from 45 metres (49 yd), giving him his third miss of the day.[5][41] Play was stopped on 27 minutes due to a dispute between Vickery and Corry which was found to have been started by the former. Tigers earned a penalty in a five-metrescrum but Goode's kick went straight down the field.[5][41] Ibañez passed low toSimon Shaw,[56] who was near the five-metre line.[51] Shaw returned the ball to Ibañez,[51] who ran to the corner unchallenged and scored Wasps' second try to double their lead to 13–6 on 34 minutes.[54][55] King was again unable to convert the try when the ball hit the goalposts at his fourth shot at goal.[41][55] Four minutes later, Tigers earned a penalty kick whenTom Palmer committed an infraction at aruck.[5] Goode scored to complete a penalty hat-trick.[55] No further points were scored and the first half ended with Wasps leading 13–9.[41]
Neither side made changes to their lineup during the interval.[54][56] Two minutes into the second half, Wasps increased their lead through a King penalty kick going between the posts from 30 metres (33 yd).[5] This came afterAlesana Tuilagi was observed holding the ball longer than allowed during a tackle.[41][51] Another penalty was awarded on 44 minutes this time to Tigers but Goode's shot went wide.[5][41] In the 48th minute, Sackey was gang-tackled by three Tigers players and needed treatment.[5] Lewis observed Tuilagi committing a second infringement when the latter was offside in a ruck and the referee awarded Wasps a penalty in the 49th minute.[5][50] King kicked to the right of the goal from 35 metres (38 yd) and scored his third penalty of the match to extend Wasps' lead to 19–9. On 50 minutes, Smith came on for Gibson in the centre at Tigers.[5][41] Dallaglio picked up a left knee injury and was replaced byJames Haskell a minute later.[53][56] After 54 minutes, Vickery gathered the ball and allowedTom Voyce to get a position that allowed King to make a drop kick from in front of the goal posts and increase Wasps' lead by three more points.[5][41]
Wasps replaced Shaw withDaniel Leo in the 55th minute.[56] Tuilagi went to fly-half and threw a high pass overGeordan Murphy's head beforeDan Hipkiss broke through the Wasps defense and passed the ball to Smith, who then gave it to Corry.[41][51] In the 62nd minute, Tigers broughtIan Humphreys on for Goode. In the 68th minute, Hipkiss passed to Tuilagi, who ran to within 10 metres (11 yd) on the left before he was tackled by Ciprani who was then supported by other Wasps players.[5][41] The subsequent defensive scrum saw Haskell run 70 metres (77 yd) up the field before Humphreys tackled him 5 metres (5.5 yd) from the line.[5][54] Tigers flankers were observed to be offside at the ruck,[51] earning Wasps a penalty kick. King, kicking from the right, successfully scored his fourth penalty in the 73rd minute.[41][56] In the concluding seven minutes, Tigers substituted four players and Wasps made five personnel issues but no further points were scored.[5] Lewis blew the final whistle, with Wasps winning the match 25–9 and their second Heineken Cup.[41]
| 20 May 2007 14:30BST |
Leicester Tigers | 9–25 | London Wasps |
| Pen:Goode (3) 7', 15', 38' | [5][51] | Try:Reddan 13' m Ibañez 34' m Pen:King (4) 4', 42', 49', 73' Drop:King 54' |
| Twickenham Stadium,London Attendance: 81,076 Referee:Alan Lewis (Ireland) |
         Leicester Tigers |    London Wasps |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees |
The Heineken Cup trophy was lifted by both Wasps captain Dallaglio and King following the presentation of runners-up medals to the Tigers side. Fraser was namedman of the match but returned the glass vase presented to him because he did not want to damage it celebrating Wasps' victory on the pitch.[41] Dallaglio commented on the victory: "Being underdogs pumps you up. We defended as if our lives depended on it. That was our greatest ever win in a final."[54] He added: "Of all the finals that was number one without a doubt. Everyone was telling us that was the best Leicester team ever, so we must be the best Wasps team ever."[57] Worsley noted the team had not been consistent all year "but on our day we're awesome".[41] Wasps' head coachIan McGeechan commented: "I don't know what the second team are going to say. They're the only team to have beaten the European champions."[53] Ibañez remarked: "You can’t imagine how good it feels to have win the Heineken Cup with these guys – it is fantastic. Those two lineout tries were good weren’t they – two specials!"[58]
Howard, who flew back to Australia to take over the family pharmacy business following a two-year spell as Tigers' coach,[59] spoke of his team's failure to win the treble: "To do a treble is an amazing thing. You've got to turn up lots of times. For the first time, we let ourselves down today."[54] He also noted Wasps' physicality and Tigers' slight loss of composure contributed to their defeat. Nevertheless, Howard declared he was "immensely proud" of the club and commented: "It's been pretty special this year, but we've let ourselves down today. I'll be down for an hour or so then I'm going to celebrate our two wins."[59] Corry admitted Wasps' outplayed the Tigers but said fatigue played no part in their defeat, adding: "Those tries cost us the game. When you defend the line-out as fiercely as we do it leaves you vulnerable and Wasps found the holes. In the second half we gave everything. I saw that in the lads' eyes. As a captain and coach that's all you can ask for."[57]
Wasps received £37,000 for winning the final.[60] McGeechan criticised the prize money disparity in winning the Heineken Cup and being relegated from Premiership Rugby, saying: "At present, the system penalises Wasps when we give up a dozen players to Test rugby because under the current share-out of funds, we do not have the money to bring in new players. It's just not possible."[60] Dallaglio raised concern over the level of financial investment and Wasps' resources, adding: "We need to go away and address the issues off the field and make sure we don't fail because of our lack of ability to compete at that level. We need to sort ourselves out and move forward. We need to compete with the likes of Leicester,Harlequins and Northampton who have great facilities."[61]
