 Leicester's Seru Rabeni charges towards the Blues defence |
Leicester: (24) 34
Tries: Tuilagi, Hipkiss, Gibson, Rabeni, Moody, Corry
Cons: Humphreys (2)
Cardiff Blues: (0) 0
Leicester went top of Heineken Cup Pool Four after a six-try demolition of the Blues gave them a bonus-point victory.
With Munster playing on Sunday, the Tigers took their chance to exert some pressure on the reigning champions with a relentless first-half display.
Tries from Alesana Tuilagi, Danny Hipkiss, Daryl Gibson and Seru Rabeni, with two Ian Humphreys conversions, put Leicester 24-0 up at the interval.
Lewis Moody and Martin Corry completed the rout with second-half touchdowns.
Leicester's victory sets up a mouth-watering pool decider at Thomond Park next Saturday, where Munster have never lost in the Heineken Cup.
The Tigers went into the match without injured fly-halves Andy Goode (hamstring) and Paul Burke (knee), so Ian Humphreys - younger brother of Ulster star David - made his tournament debut.
Cardiff Blues, already out of quarter-final contention, were rocked by a stunning Leicester start which saw them score two tries during the opening five minutes.
Some excellent Humphreys approach work created panic in Blues' defence, and full-back Geordan Murphy's exquisite inside pass sent powerful wing Tuilagi crashing over.
Humphreys converted, but the Blues found themselves in further disarray from the restart after they failed to gather a loose ball.
Hipkiss raced 50 metres unopposed, and Gibson squeezed over for their third try after 11 minutes.
The bonus-point try arrived nine minutes before half-time as relentless work by the Tigers forwards pinned the Blues deep inside their own 22.
Humphreys' pass saw Rabeni power through on an unstoppable angle before the fly-half's conversion made the game safe at 24-0.
The Blues tried to produce some threatening passages of play after the break, but lock Scott Morgan's 61st-minute yellow card for stamping negated any serious fightback hopes.
And Morgan's temporary exit provided an inevitable cue for the Leicester pack to move up a gear, with Moody adding a fifth Leicester try following an immense forward drive.
Corry delivered the final blow seven minutes from time to compound the Blues' misery.
Leicester head coach Pat Howard:
"We are not going to Limerick to make up the numbers. "We respect Munster. Welford Road is a bit of a fortress, and Thomond Park is a fortress, and we are very much looking forward to it.
"There is plenty to play for next Saturday. They have got a good team, and so have we, and while all the statistics are against us, we believe we can go there and ask some questions."
Cardiff coach David Young:
"We did not help ourselves in the first 20 minutes. "We conceded four tries in the first half - three of those were from turnover ball - and you cannot give Leicester that type of start.
"I thought the players stood up well after that, I am sure they will learn from the experience, but I thought Leicester were very strong in most areas of the field.
"Leicester did a very professional job, and we weren't good enough."
Leicester: G Murphy; S Rabeni, D Hipkiss, D Gibson, A Tuilagi; I Humphreys, H Ellis; M Ayerza, G Chuter, M Castrogiovanni, L Cullen, L Deacon, S Jennings, L Moody, M Corry (capt).
Replacements: J Buckland, J White, B Kay, J Crane, F Murphy, O Smith, S Vesty.
Blues: B Blair; T James, J Robinson, M Stcherbina, C Czekaj; N Robinson, M Phillips; G Jenkins, D Goodfield, G Powell, D Jones, S Morgan, B White, R Shellard, X Rush (capt).
Replacements: T Filise, G Williams, J Down, A Powell, E Fairhurst, M Luveitasau, N Macleod.
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 