Logovi'i Mulipola scored a try 90 seconds from time as Leicester Tigers came from 12 points down to beat Gloucester Rugby 19-18 in a thrilling Aviva Premiership clash at Kingsholm.
Tommy bell kept his nerve with the conversion out on the right to put Tigers ahead for the first time in the game as the clock ticked into the final minute.
It was reward for Tigers' attacking endeavour, that saw them create two tries in the final 10 minutes to turn the game on its head.
Tigers had trailed 12-0 in the first half as Gloucester scored two tries in two minutes through internationals James Hook and Ben Morgan.
But Marcos Ayerza’s first try in 96 games gave Tigers a foothold before half-time. They roared back into the game through a stunning length-of-the-field try for Telusa Veainu before Bell converted Mulipola's try to win it at the death.
Greg Bateman returned from a shoulder injury to take his place in the front row. Bateman came in for Tom Youngs, who missed the game through suspension. He was joined in the front row by Fraser Balmain, who took over at tighthead prop with Dan Cole on Six Nations duty with England.
Peter Betham and Bell started in the back line, Betham on the wing and Bell at full-back. Mathew Tait started at centre alongside Matt Smith with Manu Tuilagi ruled out with a tweaked hamstring.
Gloucester, who were captained by former Tigers centre Billy Twelvetrees, had a strong breeze at their backs in the first half.
But it was the Tigers who enjoyed plenty of possession in the early stages but were unable to make much headway in the face of solid defence. But after an exchange of kicks between Freddie Burns and James Hook, Tigers had a lineout on the Gloucester 22.
And from that lineout, Jacob Rown, the Gloucester back rower, was pinged for not releasing in the tackle but Burns, against his former club, was wide with his kick.
A booming 60m kick by Charlie Sharples turned defence into attack for Gloucester and had Tigers under pressure 5m from their line. Bateman’s throw was off target giving the hosts the scrum put-in.
Tigers held the Gloucester scrum and when Ben Morgan tried to force his way past Burns and Lachlan McCaffrey the England international knocked-on to concede the scrum. Tigers were then awarded a free-kick for an early push allowing Burns to clear to touch.
But Tigers were under pressure again from Bill Meakes’s break in the midfield. His pass found Sharples in support but Sam Harrison produced a try-saving tackle 15m out. Bell was then alert to a grubber kick to concede the 5m scrum.
Gloucester attacked from the scrum but Tigers stood tall, holding prop Paddy McAllister over the line to concede another scrum.
Morgan’s run off the back was halted by Harrison before Hook stepped off his left foot, held off Smith's tackle and reached out to score. The former Wales fly-half converted his own try to put Gloucester 7-0 ahead after 21 minutes.
Gloucester scored a second try a minute later. Veainu and Burns were unable to deal with Hook’s up-and-under and when Hook rejoined the attack there was a suspicion of a forward pass as he sent Morgan in at the left corner. Hook missed the conversion as Gloucester led 12-0.
Burns’s chip to the corner had Veainu interested at the other end but the bounce beat him into touch 10m out.
Burns then showed brilliant awareness to chip over the Gloucester defence and collect the bouncing ball. He was tap-tackled by Sharples 22m out but offloaded to the supporting Veainu, who shifted play to McCaffrey and then Tom Croft. Croft stopped on the line but Ayerza followed up to score at the next phase, his eighth try for the club. Burns drilled over the conversion to cut the deficit to 12-7.
But Burns was wide with a 40m penalty moments later. Instead, Bell was caught by Sharples as he fielded another Hook kick on his 22 and was pinged for holding on, giving Hook a simple penalty to put Gloucester 15-7 ahead at half-time.
The breakdown was fiercely contested at the start of the second period as Tigers looked to secure a platform from which to attack while Gloucester were determined to keep Tigers penned in their own half.
Indeed, Gloucester had Tigers under pressure through Sharples’s clever kick that was taken behind his own line by Tait to concede the scrum. Tigers defended their line brilliantly and eventually forced the knock-on, which was mopped up by McCaffrey for Veainu to take play up to the 22.
The momentum was with Gloucester at this stage and Hook went to the corner when presented with a kickable penalty. However, his forwards were pinged for offside at the lineout and Burns cleared.
Tigers then won another penalty for offside as they worked their way into Gloucester territory for the first time in the second half.
Brilliant handling by Kitchener and Dom Barrow opened up space on the left for Tait to take Tigers deep into the Gloucester 22. Play was switched to the opposite flank where Betham was tackled 8m short before Tigers won an offside penalty. They went to the corner, Kitchener set up the drive, which appeared to be dragged down, but play went on and Nicky Thomas won the holding-on penalty for Gloucester.
Tigers responded to that setback by scoring one of the tries of the Aviva Premiership season. Bell fielded Hook’s kick on his 22. On another day he might have called for a mark but instead passed out of the tackle for the overlapping Betham to make 40m down the left flank. His offload for Veainu opened up the field, and the Tonga international quickly shifted possession to replacement No8 Jordan Crane who returned the favour for Veainu to score his seventh try of the campaign. Unconverted, it left Leicester 15-12 behind with 10 minutes left.
However, Tigers were pinged at a lineout and Hook settled the home side’s nerves with a three-pointer to give Gloucester an 18-12 lead.
It was end-to-end stuff now as Tigers chased the winning try. Veainu fed Tait who made a scorching run up the left touchline. He was tackled by last-man David Halaifonua but was unable to pass out of the tackle to the supporting Veainu. Tigers were awarded a penalty at the next phase as Richard Hibbard went offside a yard from his line. Morgan was shown a yellow card for a pull-back on Veainu earlier in the move, forcing Gloucester to finish the game with 14 men.
Tigers opted to scrum the penalty and it paid off with a third try. Matt Smith and Veinu went close before Tait showed excellent awareness to find Mulipola's angled run, and the Samoa international barrelled his way past Sharples to bring Tigers to within a point.
Bell, with Burns having been replaced by Jack Roberts through cramp, showed nerves of steel to land a testing conversion which put Leicester 19-18 ahead with a minute remaining.
There was still time to restart, and Gloucester tested the Leicester defence on their 10m line one last time. But brilliant work by Crane, who made a tellingcontribution from the bench, won the holding-on penalty to signal full-time.
Tommy bell kept his nerve with the conversion out on the right to put Tigers ahead for the first time in the game as the clock ticked into the final minute.
It was reward for Tigers' attacking endeavour, that saw them create two tries in the final 10 minutes to turn the game on its head.
Tigers had trailed 12-0 in the first half as Gloucester scored two tries in two minutes through internationals James Hook and Ben Morgan.
But Marcos Ayerza’s first try in 96 games gave Tigers a foothold before half-time. They roared back into the game through a stunning length-of-the-field try for Telusa Veainu before Bell converted Mulipola's try to win it at the death.
Greg Bateman returned from a shoulder injury to take his place in the front row. Bateman came in for Tom Youngs, who missed the game through suspension. He was joined in the front row by Fraser Balmain, who took over at tighthead prop with Dan Cole on Six Nations duty with England.
Peter Betham and Bell started in the back line, Betham on the wing and Bell at full-back. Mathew Tait started at centre alongside Matt Smith with Manu Tuilagi ruled out with a tweaked hamstring.
Gloucester, who were captained by former Tigers centre Billy Twelvetrees, had a strong breeze at their backs in the first half.
But it was the Tigers who enjoyed plenty of possession in the early stages but were unable to make much headway in the face of solid defence. But after an exchange of kicks between Freddie Burns and James Hook, Tigers had a lineout on the Gloucester 22.
And from that lineout, Jacob Rown, the Gloucester back rower, was pinged for not releasing in the tackle but Burns, against his former club, was wide with his kick.
A booming 60m kick by Charlie Sharples turned defence into attack for Gloucester and had Tigers under pressure 5m from their line. Bateman’s throw was off target giving the hosts the scrum put-in.
Tigers held the Gloucester scrum and when Ben Morgan tried to force his way past Burns and Lachlan McCaffrey the England international knocked-on to concede the scrum. Tigers were then awarded a free-kick for an early push allowing Burns to clear to touch.
But Tigers were under pressure again from Bill Meakes’s break in the midfield. His pass found Sharples in support but Sam Harrison produced a try-saving tackle 15m out. Bell was then alert to a grubber kick to concede the 5m scrum.
Gloucester attacked from the scrum but Tigers stood tall, holding prop Paddy McAllister over the line to concede another scrum.
Morgan’s run off the back was halted by Harrison before Hook stepped off his left foot, held off Smith's tackle and reached out to score. The former Wales fly-half converted his own try to put Gloucester 7-0 ahead after 21 minutes.
Gloucester scored a second try a minute later. Veainu and Burns were unable to deal with Hook’s up-and-under and when Hook rejoined the attack there was a suspicion of a forward pass as he sent Morgan in at the left corner. Hook missed the conversion as Gloucester led 12-0.
Burns’s chip to the corner had Veainu interested at the other end but the bounce beat him into touch 10m out.
Burns then showed brilliant awareness to chip over the Gloucester defence and collect the bouncing ball. He was tap-tackled by Sharples 22m out but offloaded to the supporting Veainu, who shifted play to McCaffrey and then Tom Croft. Croft stopped on the line but Ayerza followed up to score at the next phase, his eighth try for the club. Burns drilled over the conversion to cut the deficit to 12-7.
But Burns was wide with a 40m penalty moments later. Instead, Bell was caught by Sharples as he fielded another Hook kick on his 22 and was pinged for holding on, giving Hook a simple penalty to put Gloucester 15-7 ahead at half-time.
The breakdown was fiercely contested at the start of the second period as Tigers looked to secure a platform from which to attack while Gloucester were determined to keep Tigers penned in their own half.
Indeed, Gloucester had Tigers under pressure through Sharples’s clever kick that was taken behind his own line by Tait to concede the scrum. Tigers defended their line brilliantly and eventually forced the knock-on, which was mopped up by McCaffrey for Veainu to take play up to the 22.
The momentum was with Gloucester at this stage and Hook went to the corner when presented with a kickable penalty. However, his forwards were pinged for offside at the lineout and Burns cleared.
Tigers then won another penalty for offside as they worked their way into Gloucester territory for the first time in the second half.
Brilliant handling by Kitchener and Dom Barrow opened up space on the left for Tait to take Tigers deep into the Gloucester 22. Play was switched to the opposite flank where Betham was tackled 8m short before Tigers won an offside penalty. They went to the corner, Kitchener set up the drive, which appeared to be dragged down, but play went on and Nicky Thomas won the holding-on penalty for Gloucester.
Tigers responded to that setback by scoring one of the tries of the Aviva Premiership season. Bell fielded Hook’s kick on his 22. On another day he might have called for a mark but instead passed out of the tackle for the overlapping Betham to make 40m down the left flank. His offload for Veainu opened up the field, and the Tonga international quickly shifted possession to replacement No8 Jordan Crane who returned the favour for Veainu to score his seventh try of the campaign. Unconverted, it left Leicester 15-12 behind with 10 minutes left.
However, Tigers were pinged at a lineout and Hook settled the home side’s nerves with a three-pointer to give Gloucester an 18-12 lead.
It was end-to-end stuff now as Tigers chased the winning try. Veainu fed Tait who made a scorching run up the left touchline. He was tackled by last-man David Halaifonua but was unable to pass out of the tackle to the supporting Veainu. Tigers were awarded a penalty at the next phase as Richard Hibbard went offside a yard from his line. Morgan was shown a yellow card for a pull-back on Veainu earlier in the move, forcing Gloucester to finish the game with 14 men.
Tigers opted to scrum the penalty and it paid off with a third try. Matt Smith and Veinu went close before Tait showed excellent awareness to find Mulipola's angled run, and the Samoa international barrelled his way past Sharples to bring Tigers to within a point.
Bell, with Burns having been replaced by Jack Roberts through cramp, showed nerves of steel to land a testing conversion which put Leicester 19-18 ahead with a minute remaining.
There was still time to restart, and Gloucester tested the Leicester defence on their 10m line one last time. But brilliant work by Crane, who made a tellingcontribution from the bench, won the holding-on penalty to signal full-time.
