Heineken Man of the Match Tom Croft declared there was "blind panic" in the Leicester Tigers side at the end of the match agaist the Ospreys
Heineken Man of the Match Tom Croft declared there was "blind panic" in the Leicester Tigers side as they packed down for a scrum at the foot of their posts with four minutes left to play against the Ospreys in their opening game in Pool 3.
The Welsh Region were within one try of completing an unlikely victory and must have fancied their chances of scoring from the scrum.
But the home pack stood firm, stole the ball at the base of the scrum and then cleared to make victory secure.
"There was sheer panic at the last scrum. I was just hoping they didn't come around my side," said Croft.
"But we kept our discipline superbly, turned over the scrum and then we were all relieved to see Derrick Hougaard clear the ball 40 metres down field."
The England back row man was at the heart of a dominant performance from the Tigers pack that paved the way for a revenge win over the Welsh region following their defeat at Twickenham earlier in the year in the EDF Energy Cup final.
"That was one of the hardest fixtures we have had this season. Having the Ospreys at home was a massive help," added Croft.
"We are all well chuffed with the win. Heineken Cup games are similar to internationals - they are faster and more intense than normal club matches.
"Coming away with a win in our first game is amazing and I'm sure our new coach Heyneke Meyer was jumping up and down on his crutches in the sand.
"We now need to go out with the same intent and intensity in next weekend's game against Benetton Treviso."
