French champions Stade Francais Paris are into the Champions Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2010 after reaching their target of beating Leicester Tigers and picking up a bonus point.
Their 36-21 triumph included five tries in the end, with three of them coming in the second quarter after Manu Tuilagi had ended a dominant first 20 minutes for the unbeaten Tigers with a 35 metre run to the line for his first try since returning from a long term groin injury.
The Tigers were seeking their first clean sweep of the pool stages in Europe, but found themselves undone by the French champions who won with the bonus point they needed to clinch their own ticket into the quarter-finals. Their response to Tuilagi's try was to score three of their own in a blistering second quarter performance that lifted them into a 19-7 half-time lead.
The bonus point try, from their rampaging flanker Raphael Lakafia, came in the 53
rd minute shortly after Leicester had lost their skipper and hooker Tom Youngs to the sin-bin for a midfield fracas with Rabah Slimani. That score more or less ensured Stade would go into the quarter-final draw and meant Ulster were pushed out resulting in no Irish province being in the last eight in the top tier of European rugby for the first time since 1998.
Freddie Burns converted the Tuilagi try and the Tigers were great value for their lead having totally dominated the opening 20 minutes. But then the momentum shifted as Stade tightened their discipline and being to get their off-loading game going. Waisea Vuidarvuwalu crossed in the left corenr on the overlap for the first try and then Jules Plisson dummied his way over for the second.
Slimani powered his way over for the third home try and Pisson's boot made it 19-7 at the break. The outside half converted the Lakafia score that brought up the bonus-point, but the Tiers then regrouped and hit back.
Dom Barrow used all of his 6' 7" frame to touch down at full arms length for a try at the posts and there could have been another had the TMO not called up Sam Harrison's inside pass as forward. There was a third try from replacement hooker Harry Thacker to close the gap to eight points, but an interception score from replacement centre Geoffrey Doumayrou gave the French side a final flourish.
