Ulster mauled by Leicester Tigers in strong second half
01/11/2025 05:33 PM
MATCH REPORT: A hat-trick by Josh Bassett helped Leicester Tigers see off Ulster 38-10 to qualify for the Champions Cup knockout stage.
Two tries in three minutes from Tigers winger Ollie Hassell-Collins shot them into a comfortable lead in the second half.
Ten minutes later the other winger completed his hat-trick as Bassett collected his own kick-through to dive over and make it 31-10 at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
Izaia Perese then capitalised on a loose ball to add the Tigers' sixth of the night as they ran out 38-10 winners.
Michael Cheika's side took the lead for the first time on the stroke of half-time and would never look back, running in four more tries after the restart in an emphatic rout, with Bassett the orchestrator in the dense Leicester fog, running in a hat-trick.
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It leaves Ulster still seeking their first European point of the season.
Meanwhile, mathematically, they could still make it into the Champions Cup last-16 with a bonus-point win over Exeter Chiefs and a heavy Sharks loss in Bordeaux next weekend.
Scorers:
For Leicester Tigers:
Tries: Bassett 3, Hassell-Collins 2, Perese
Cons: Pollard 2, Steward, ShillcockPollard
For Ulster:
Tries: Timoney
Cons: Doak
Pens: Doak
Teams
Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Josh Bassett, 13 Izaia Perese, 12 Solomone Kata, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Olly Cracknell, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Finn Carnduff, 5 Jed Holloway, 4 Cameron Henderson, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 James Whitcombe, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Emeka Ilione, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Jamie Shillcock, 23 Joe Woodward.
Ulster: 15 Ethan Mcilroy, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Ben Carson, 12 Jude Postlethwaite, 11 Zac Ward, 10 Aidan Morgan, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Dave McCann, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 James McNabney, 5 Cormac Izuchukwu, 4 Iain Henderson (captain), 3 Scott Wilson, 2 John Andrew, 1 Andrew Warwick.
Replacements: 16 James McCormick, 17 Eric O'Sullivan, 18 Corrie Barrett, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Harry Sheridan, 21 John Cooney, 22 Jack Murphy, 23 Rory Telfer.
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ben Connor (Wales), Rhys Jones (Wales)
TMO: Keith David (Wales)
