Tigers face semi-final Rugby Cup showdown with Cardiff

French scrum-half Julien Dupuy scored a dramatic last-minute try to give two-time champions Leicester a 20-15 European Cup quarter-final victory over Bath on Saturday.

The 25-year-old former Biarritz player, who had replaced Harry Ellis, seized his opportunity to take the Tigers into a semi-final clash with Cardiff Blues, who stunned triple champions Toulouse 9-6.

From the breakdown, Dupuy spun from one side to the other, turned full circle, to leave the covering Bath players all wrong-footed, before bursting into the gap to score beneath the posts.

"He did a 360-degree swivel and went under the posts. Pure elation," said Leicester fly-half Sam Vesty.

Vesty had kicked the Tigers, the 2001 and 2002 European champions, into a 6-0 lead, making the most of opposing stand-off Butch James's struggles to impose his control on the game.

Springboks star James missed a kickable penalty but he regained his composure five minutes from the interval by playing an integral role in his side's opening try.

From a lineout, he quickly fed Kiwi rugby league convert Shontayne Hape, who danced between two defenders before releasing replacement Australian centre Shaun Berne to score.

James kicked the conversion for a half-time 7-6 lead and then added an early second-half penalty for 10-6.

Vesty then succeeded with two more penalties for a 12-10 advantage, but Bath responded with a second try on 64 minutes.

Hooker Lee Mears charged down a 22m drop out. Flanker Michael Lipman carried it on before Matthew Banahan found Berne who released a quick, long pass for Joe Maddock to score.

That made it 15-12. James again missed with the extras before Vesty quickly levelled with his fifth penalty of the tie.

With the clock ticking down at the Walkers Stadium, it was the diminutive Dupuy who stole the headlines.

Cardiff enjoyed sweet revenge over Toulouse, who had crushed them 41-17 at the same stage last season.

All of Cardiff's points in the Millennium Stadium clash came from the boot of New Zealand full-back Ben Blair with the result meaning there will be no French side in the semi-finals for only the second time in the tournament's 14-year history.

"We dug in for the last half hour. They have got some dangerous backs and if the match had gone on for another 10 minutes I think we would have struggled a bit," said Cardiff prop Gethin Jenkins, whose performance boosted his chance of a Lions call-up.

"We knew we would have to defend well for 80 minutes. Up front, we were getting really tired but we stuck it out."

In Sunday's remaining quarter-finals, defending champions Munster face Ospreys at Thomond Park while Leinster travel to Harlequins.





A Palestinian youth rides his horse at sunset. AP Photo/Adel Hana

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