Racing 92 resist Leicester Tigers to win European Champions Cup opener by 22-18

Racing 92 22-18 Leicester Tigers, Stade Yves-Du-Manoir
Scorecard

Racing 92 managed to overcome a tough challenge from Leicester Tigers as they edged out the English Premiership club with a 22-18 win in the opening round of the European Champions Cup at Stade Yves-Du-Manoir on Saturday.

It took the visitors just two minutes to get their first try on the board when Luke Hamilton went past the line while George Ford's conversion increased their lead to seven points.

However, Racing 92's response came strong with a touchdown each from Leone Nakarawa (17'), lock Bernard le Roux (23') and Teddy Thomas (28') as they had a 19-10 lead at the end of the 30th minute.

Their momentum was dented a bit when Virimi Vakatawa was sin-binned in the 34th minute and England international Jonny May capitalised on the advantage with a try as Leicester Tigers reduced the trail to four points at half time.

The second half was very competitive with both teams struggling to get a point and it was replacement Maxime Machenaud, who broke the shackles with a penalty in the 57th minute as Racing 92 stretched their lead to seven points and as the game was heading for a tight finish, Ford's 76th minute penalty reduced the Tigers' losing margin to four points.

With the four point win, Racing 92 went on to claim the top position in Pool 4 while the Tigers find themselves at the bottom.