Leicester last night lodged a complaint to European Rugby Cup, organisers of the Heineken Cup, after Ospreys played part of their pool match yesterday with an extra man on the pitch. Lee Byrne returned to the field after injury without realising his replacement had not come off, leading to a numerical advantage for around 60 seconds.
It is hughly unlikely the result of the match will be affected, meaning the Tigers are out of the competition and only one English team, either Northampton or London Irish, will go through to the quarter finals. Wing Tommy Bowe's first-half try helped send the Ospreys through as one of two best runners-up, but Leicester missed out in Pool Three as the current French Championship leaders Clermont Auvergne took top spot by virtue of a bonus points win over Viadana.
Dan Biggar sealed the Welsh side's 17-12 victory with three penalties and a drop-goal, which were enough to beat Leicester despite a Jeremy Staunton drop-goal and three Toby Flood penalties. The Ospreys, who now face a possible quarter-final away to Irish giants Munster or Leinster, were not to be denied, despite an injury concern over their Wales and Lions star Lee Byrne. Byrne limped off 12 minutes from time, and although he returned to the action shortly afterwards, it was enough to trouble Wales coach Warren Gatland just two weeks before the Six Nations opener against England at Twickenham.
The Ospreys held on during a frenzied finale that saw Leicester throw everything at them. But the Welsh side survived, breathing a huge collective sigh of relief when Tigers substitute Aaron Mauger knocked on just five metres from the Ospreys line. Clermont Auvergne booked their place in the last 16 with an emphatic 59-20 win over Viadana in Italy. The French side, who registered a convincing 27-6 win against Ospreys last week, knew that only a bonus point win would see them through to the last 16 and were 7-0 ahead within two minutes thanks to a converted Morgan Parra try.
The away side then ran riot had picked up the four tries required for a bonus point by half-time, with Napoleoni Nalaga and Aurelien Rougerie (twice) touching down. Vern Cotter's team moved into a commanding 52-6 lead thanks to tries from Julien Malzieu, Elvis Vermeulen, Nalaga and a penalty try, while Brock James continued his fine form with the boot by kicking six straight conversions. Julio Garcia's converted try gave the home side some hope but Clermont soon hit back to open up a 59-18 lead thanks to a try from full-back Anthony Floch.
Viadana grabbed another a try through replacement Gareth Krause but it was not enough to stop Cotter's side moving to the top of Pool Three at the expense of Ospreys. In Pool Four, Ulster picked up a 28-10 away win at Bath and Edinburgh narrowly edged out Stade Francais 9-7. * With agencies
