LEICESTER TIGERS 34 THE DRAGONS 3

Leicester Tigers got their Heineken Cup campaign back on track with a hugely impressive performance against the Dragons at Welford Road.

Martin Johnson won the man-of-the-match award as the marauding Tigers pack tore strips off the Dragons from the opening whistle.

The Tigers were superior in all departments. World Cup star Neil Back and Martin Corry were superb throughout, while the mercurial Austin Healey had a magical game at scrum-half and recent South African signing Jaco Van Der Westhuyzen was looking good at fullback.

The Dragons made the worst possible start when left winger Ben Breeze failed to collect a Pez mis-kick and Tigers winger Neil Baxter - a recent convert from rugby league - accepted the gift to score near the posts.

A Pez penalty goal gave the home side a 10-0 lead after only six minutes, and his second goal put the Tigers firmly in control at the 20-minute mark. Things went from bad to worse for the Dragons when centre Hal Luscombe was sin-binned for a professional foul.

The 14 remaining Dragons players applied the pressure with two lineouts close to the Tigers' line, but then came the match clincher for Leicester. Dragons fullback Sione Tuipulotu tried to slip the ball down the blindside, but found only Tigers centre Leon Lloyd, who raced 95 metres for a try to give his side a 20-0 lead at halftime.

The Tigers began the second half where they left off, with international winger Ollie Smith showing his class with a well-taken try in corner, with Pez twisting the knife with a sideline conversion.

A sole Percy Montgomery penalty was the score for a Dragons side out-gunned in all facets of play. The double Heineken Cup champions scored two tries in each half and fly-half Ramiro Pez added 14 points with the boot to recover from last weekend's loss to Stade Francais.

Dragons coach Mike Ruddock was upbeat, despite the 31-point loss.

'You have to be precise with everything you do against Leicester, and we weren't. We gifted them two tries and you can't do that.

'We gave away too many penalties, but we're positive and we'll give these guys a warm welcome at Rodney Parade. The score didn't reflect the match and I'm proud of the guys.'

South African Montgomery finally got the Dragons on the scoreboard with a penalty goal, and the Welsh region showed grit to keep out wave after wave of Leicester attacks.

Not many teams can keep out a Tigers rolling maul from close range, but the Dragons repelled four consecutive drives and held up Smith over the line to prevent the impressive winger from notching his second try.

It was always going to come, though, and Smith showed Montgomery a clean pair of heels to score another excellent try to give the Tigers a bonus point which will be valuable in a tight pool.

Leicester Tigers 34 The Dragons 3
HT: 20-0 Attendance: 15,093
Leicester Tigers: Tries - O Smith (2), N Baxter, L Lloyd; Cons - R Pez (4); Pens - R Pez (2)
The Dragons: Pen - P Montgomery
Match points: Leicester Tigers 5 pts; The Dragons 0 pt
Heineken Man of the Match: Martin Johnson (Leicester Tigers)