THROWBACK: Leicester Tigers beat Cardiff in a penalty shootout
- 2771
On this day in 2009, Leicester Tigers booked a Heineken Cup final date with Leinster after beating Cardiff Blues 7-6 in an historic sudden death penalty shoot-out at the Millennium Stadium.
Jordan Crane slotted the match winning place kick for the Tigers after the Blues had fought back bravely to level the match at 26-26 and take the contest into extra time.
A match that enthralled from start to finish was decided by a dramatic shoot-out, the first of its kind in the tournament's 14-year history, was an ill-fitting climax to a match that enthralled from start to finish.
Neither side was able to break the deadlock in extra time the match would be decided by the kicking prowess of the respective teams.
Leicester's Johne Murphy missed his kick from the 22 metre line to give James the chance to win it for the Blues but he also failed to hit the target and as a result the duel went into sudden-death. The final twist in the tale saw the Blues' Martyn Williams pull his effort wide of the posts before Crane stepped up to slot the match-winning kick and set the seal on the most dramatic match in Heineken Cup history.