Injury-hit Leicester staged a dramatic second half fightback to draw 32-32 with Neath-Swansea Ospreys on Sunday in the opening round of the European Cup.
Last season’s losing finalists needed a storming try from Jeremy Staunton in the dying minutes, converted by Billy Twelvetrees, to earn a share of the spoils and a four-try bonus point.
In Toulouse, Sale Sharks failed to bite into the former European champions and went down 36-17.
PHOTO: AFP
The southern French outfit ran in five tries for a bonus point and dominated the forward battles to lead 24-3 by half-time.
Two tries by French three-quarter Vincent Clerc set a new Cup record of 30, beating Dafydd James previous mark of 28 tries.
Toulouse manager Guy Noves warned that next week at Harlequins “it will certainly be tougher.”
After a shaky start to the season, Toulouse captain Thierry Dusautoir noted: “We are getting our confidence back bit by bit. Now we need to play at this level throughout a match.”
Sale coach Alan Blease looked for positives for the future.
In Leicester, the Tigers trailed 26-8 late in the first half.
Leicester boss Richard Cockerill summed up the fighting spirit.
“We had players unavailable and pulling out at the last minute,” he said.
“The attitude to just go out and play and not give up is what this side is about,” he said. “The spirit of the players today was fantastic. We pride ourselves on having people who want to play for us and not for the money. You can buy a team but you can’t buy spirit.”
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