Double champions Leicester reached the European Cup quarter-finals on Saturday despite a 15-9 defeat to the Ospreys, who now face a nervous wait before learning their destiny.
The Tigers, winners in 2001 and 2002, picked up a crucial losing bonus point to make sure of top spot in Pool Three with 21 points.
The Ospreys, who have 20 points, dominated the tense Liberty Stadium encounter but their fast-breaking backs were unable to shatter the unyielding Leicester defense, which stood firm even when they were reduced to 14 men late in the first half.
The Welsh region’s future in this season’s competition was to be decided yesterday when Pools Two and Five were to be decided with four teams — Leinster, Wasps, Bath and Toulouse — still in contention.
“It is a very weird feeling in the dressing room,” Leicester boss Martin Corry said. “It was a very hard game, and in the end, we had to take stock and make sure we came out of it with something.”
In the pool’s other game, Perpignan ran in eight tries in a 48-16 romp at Treviso.
Harlequins, who made sure of their quarter-final place last week, clinched a bonus-point 29-24 victory over the Scarlets to guarantee a home tie in the last eight.
The Scarlets finished bottom of Pool Four. In the group’s other match, Stade Francais saw off Ulster 24-19, but both sides had already been eliminated from contention.
In Pool One, Sale, whose coach Philippe Saint-Andre is expected to be named as manager of Toulon today, ended Clermont’s slim chances of qualifying as a best runner-up with a 26-17 win.
Pool One leaders and defending champions Munster’s clash at Montauban was postponed because of storms in southwest France and were to take place yesterday. Munster, who have already reached the last eight for an 11th successive season, are hoping to secure a home tie in the quarter-finals with a bonus-point win.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two