Tigers win shoot out to secure Final place

The Tigers looked to be cruising to victory after tries either side of half-time from Scott Hamilton and Geordan Murphy, supplemented by four Julien Dupuy penalties, helped them open a 26-12 lead entering the final quarter.

But the match was turned on its head in the final stages as Leicester lost Craig Newby and Murphy to the sin-bin for cynical infringements as Cardiff pressed for the line.

And the Blues took advantage of their numerical advantage with tries from Jamie Roberts and Tom James - both converted from the touchline by Ben Blair - to level at 26-26 and force extra-time.

The extra 20 minutes failed to produce another point leaving the match to be decided in a penalty shoot-out, with the players lining up their shots from in front of the posts on the 22-metre line.

Johne Murphy, Leicester's fourth kicker, was the first to miss but Tom James, Cardiff's fifth kicker, was off-target when a successful attempt would have won it for the Blues.

After four more successful kicks in sudden death, Cardiff's Martyn Williams scuffed his wide and Jordan Crane sent his effort straight and true to send Leicester into the final.