European Cup Pool Three/leicester 29 Stade Francais 22: Leicester's history in Europe has involved so many defiant rearguard actions that yesterday's late drama in the east midlands was, on one level, a case of déjà vu.
Even by the Tigers' never-say-die standards, however, this was something special and the manner in which they surged past a stunned Stade in the final minutes ranked alongside any of the great Heineken European Cup recoveries witnessed in their own muddy lair.
It is no exaggeration to describe this as the comeback of the season to date, edging out Leicester's own last-gasp win over the Ospreys last month in a pool that seems to have taken up residence on a razor's edge.
With nine minutes of normal time left they trailed 22-12 and appeared doomed to disappointment - two converted tries from Louis Deacon and Dan Hipkiss later they were back in charge of their destiny and now need only a losing bonus point in Clermont-Ferrand on Friday night to clinch a place in the quarter-finals.
Had the scoreboard registered a victory margin by one additional point they would already be through, with Stade Français unable to claw their way back in Pool Three because of the Tigers' superior try count in the two games between the teams.
On balance, though, Martin Corry's side should be grateful for what they now have, particularly when they replay the tape of their efforts in the first 70-odd minutes.
In the end, this was how far belief can get you in times of strife. It was not that the Tigers had played poorly, more that Stade's big men barely put a foot wrong.
The splendidly-named Remy Martin tackled with the relish of a man whose glass is permanently half-full and when the replacement Mirco Bergamasco intercepted a floated 62nd-minute pass from Andy Goode and raced 55 metres to score the game's first try it seemed the Leicester Tigers might be running on empty.
But behind the Tigers' line defeatism never reared its ugly head.
"When we were under the posts we were all very calm," said the centre Hipkiss after the game, speaking on behalf of his elders.
"At times like that you look at people like Martin Corry and Graham Rowntree and you know they've done it before. It instills confidence and you just don't think you can lose."
And so it was that Stade Français' worst nightmares returned to haunt them. In the European Cup final of 2001, it was two tries from wing Leon Lloyd which helped Leicester overcome the odds and beat the same opponents 34-30 in Paris; on this occasion it was their ever-alert Irish wing Geordan Murphy who tipped the scales.
First, after Goode's neat little outside-of-the-boot chip, it was Murphy who had the presence of mind to gather the ball, fix the defence and release Deacon for one of those gallops to the line that seem to last half a lifetime.
With the scores level courtesy of Goode's bullet-like conversion from the touchline, all the momentum was suddenly with the Leicester Tigers and they poured forward looking for the kill.
The Stade defence soon had their hands impossibly full and a hole or two opened up on the left; once again Goode and Murphy combined expertly to send Hipkiss racing over for a score that prompted bedlam.
It was Hipkiss who also applied the coup de grace against the Ospreys last month in a game in which Leicester really did escape from jail; this time their head coach Pat Howard preferred to praise his side's sang-froid, suggesting their refusal to buckle was no fluke.
"There's an amazing amount of belief in this club," sighed Howard afterwards. "It wasn't a fantastic performance, but the way they believe in themselves is fantastic."
With Sale and Bath already qualified and Leicester now almost there, this was also a day to restore some faith.
Stade, well-served at half-back, kept the scoreboard ticking along nicely through David Skrela and well-taken drop-goals from Juan Hernandez and Ignacio Corleto and Leicester had to overcome the first-half loss of Lloyd and Shane Jennings, neither of whom will be available for Friday's final pool game.
Referee Alan Lewis spent much of the game irritating the home crowd, but his decisions will barely rate a mention this morning. Victory, sealed with a Hipkiss, was all that mattered.
Guardian Service
SCORERS -: Leicester: Tries: L. Deacon, Hipkiss. Cons: Goode 2. Pens: Goode 5. Stade Français: Tries: M. Bergamasco. Cons: Skrela. Pens: Skrela 3. Drop Goals: Martin Hernandez, Corleto.
LEICESTER: Vesty, Lloyd, Smith, Hipkiss, Murphy, Goode, Healey, Rowntree, Chuter, White, L. Deacon, Kay, Johnson, Jennings, Corry. Replacements: Varndell for Lloyd (35), Ellis for Healey (53), Cullen for L. Deacon (74). Not Used: Buckland, Holford, Abraham, Broadfoot.
STADE FRANÇAIS: Corleto, Borges, Skrela, Martin Hernandez, Dominici, Penaud, Fillol, Marconnet, Szarzewski, De Villiers, Auradou, M. James, Parisse, Martin, Sowerby. Replacements: M. Bergamasco for Borges (17), Marchois for M. James (80), Rabadan for Martin (80). Not Used: Kayser, Montes, Williams, Messina. Att: 16,815.
Referee: A Lewis (Ireland).
