Leicester Tigers vs Stade Francais match report: Manu Tuilagi sparks rout as English poised to dominate French rivals

Leicester Tigers 41 Stade Francais 13: Tigers run in six tries to make it three English teams out of four in the European Champions Cup semi-finals

Freddie Burns roars with delight as he runs in for a try (Getty)

Six tries including a fifth of the season for their England centre Manu Tuilagi helped Leicester Tigers cruise past their old European rivals Stade Francais to reach the semi-finals of the Champions Cup for the first time since 2009.

England’s representation of three clubs in the last four equals the country’s best effort in this competition, which was in the 2006-7 season when Wasps beat Leicester in a Twickenham final. No English club has won the cup since then, but the continental pecking order has changed this year. Leicester will meet French opposition in Racing 92 in Nottingham on Sunday 24 April after the French side knocked out reigning champions Toulon to end their three-year reign of European domination, while Saracens will play Wasps in Reading the day before.

Tigers were given the perfect start by a piece of quick thinking from Freddie Burns, who had regained his starting place from Owen Williams. The some-time England fly-half took a quick line-out that gave the alert Tuilagi an easy try, after the retreating Stade Francais full-back Djibril Camara had been harried into touch by Telusa Veainu.

Manu Tuilagi scores the first try of the match for Leicester (Getty)

By half-time of the 11th European meeting between these clubs - and the third this season after they won one each in the pool stage - Leicester were a comfortable 24-6 up. The failure by Stade to clear their lines after Burns’s chip had forced them into a defensive line-out in their 22 led to Niki Goneva cantering over on the left wing. And Burns grabbed a deserved try for himself in the 34th minute, intercepting a pass from Morne Steyn to centre Geoffrey Doumayrou for a 50-metre run-in.

Former South Africa fly-half Steyn had kicked two penalties for Stade and his team’s best moment came two minutes into the second half when his half-back partner Julien Dupuy scampered to a try from Sergio Parisse’s clever pass off the floor.

Vereniki Goneva dots down the ball for the second of his two tries (Getty)

From that point on it was all Tigers, as Goneva got his second try with a touchline sprint set up by Mathew Tait’s counter attack from Steyn’s weak kick downfield, and Mike Fitzgerald finished a wonderfully lavish score that featured a run by Tait, a surge by Fitzgerald’s fellow back-rower Brendon O’Connor and a party-piece flip-on by loosehead prop Marcos Ayerza.

The Leicester fun continued as effervescent Tongan wing Veainu shimmied past Stade’s replacement fly-half Jules Plisson and dived into the corner with 65 minutes gone.

Telusa Veainu runs clear to score a try for Leicester (Getty)

Stade’s embarrassment was increased as the reigning French league champions’ captain Parisse was given a dressing-down for dissent by referee Nigel Owens. And if Williams, who had come on for Burns, had succeeded with three goal kicks in succession that struck one or other of the posts, the losing margin of 28 points that was a record for Stade in Europe might have been even greater.

Leicester's captain Tait said his team’s defence was the best it had been all season, while Tigers’ director of rugby Richard Cockerill was asked if his team had taken inspiration from the high-flying footballers at neighbours Leicester City. “It’s good for the city. Sport is all about passion and hard work and belief – and Leicester City have shown that. They outwork and want to out-play sides and there’s a lot of similarity between us.”

Mike Fitzgerald dives over in the corner to score a try (Getty)

Cockerill also paid tribute to New Zealander head coach Aaron Mauger’s influence on the Tigers' attack. “There’s no secret I brought Aaron here to help the team evolve and develop. The thing that let us down today was our set-piece – it was a mess.

“But we’ve still won nothing so we have to get refocused on Tuesday and think about beating Northampton in the Premiership next Saturday.”

Teams

Leicester Tigers: M Tait (capt); T Veainu, P Betham, M Tuilagi, V Goneva (A Thompstone 70); F Burns (O Williams 52), B Youngs (J Kitto 69); M Ayerza (L Mulipola 63), H Thacker (G Bateman 60), D Cole (F Balmain 67), D Barrow, G Kitchener, M Fitzgerald (S de Chaves 69), B O’Connor, L McCaffrey (T Croft 63).

Scorers: Tries: Tuilagi, Goneva 2, Burns, Fitzgerald, Veainu; Cons: Burns 4; Pen: Burns.

Stade Francais: D Camara (H Bonneval 64); W Vuidarvuwalu, G Doumayrou, J Danty, J Sinzelle; M Steyn (J Plisson 52), J Dupuy (J Tomas 71); Z Zhvania (D Priso 67), R Bonfils (C Burden 67), R Slimani (P Alo Emile 60), H Pyle, A Flanquart (P Gabrillagues 35), J Ross (W Alberts 52), R Lakafia, S Parisse (capt).

Scorers: Try: Dupuy; Con: Steyn; Pens: Steyn 2.

Referee: N Owens (Wales).

Official attendance: 20, 866.