Win puts Tigers on course for treble

Leicester clinched the first leg of a potential trophy treble in a thrilling 41-35 EDF Energy Cup final win against the Ospreys at Twickenham.

The Tigers had stormed into an emphatic 28-6 half-time lead with four converted tries, only for the Ospreys to strike back after half-time and set-up a dramatic finish.

In the end, Leicester held out - running in five tries to four - to end their five-season trophy drought and it sets them up well for next weekend's Heineken Cup semi-final clash with the Llanelli Scarlets and the Guinness Premiership run-in.

Ospreys scrum-half Justin Marshall was clearly at fault for two of the Tigers' first-half tries as Leicester finished with ruthless efficiency and steamed into a 14-6 lead with two tries in the space of two minutes.

Marshall retreated to his own line to cover Paul Burke's chip over the Ospreys defence but was stripped of the ball by Tom Varndell who spun clear to score and barely a minute later Tom Croft tapped Paul Burke's cross-kick down to Dan Hipkiss, received the return pass and then galloped 40 metres to score.

Marshall then lost possession as he ran into Leicester hooker George Chuter and England lock Ben Kay scooped up the loose ball, sold James Hook an audacious dummy, and then strode 30 metres for the Tigers' third try.

Soon it was four. Sam Vesty's attempted grubber kick rebounded kindly for Leicester and Harry Ellis slipped the pass to Alesana Tuilagi, who rampaged through Marshall's tackle to dive over next to the posts.

The Ospreys stormed back in the second half thanks to a try from Lee Byrne, Nikki Walker and two from Shane Williams but in the end, the Ospreys had left themselves with too much work to do and the Tigers celebrated the first of what they hope will be a league, cup and European trophy treble.