Tuilagi scores, but Tigers lose perfect European record
Manu Tuilagi scored for the first time since returning from a 15-month injury lay-off but could not prevent Leicester from losing their 100 per cent Champions Cup record as the Tigers were overcome 36-21 by Stade Francais.
Leicester had already secured top spot in Pool 4 having won their opening five matches in Europe this season but were unable to make it a perfect six from six as Stade Francais secured a bonus-point triumph in Paris which sealed the French side's quarter-final berth as well.
England centre Tuilagi, in only his third game since returning from a lengthy battle with a groin injury, lasted 50 minutes before being replaced as he continued his comeback.
And the 24-year-old opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a 35-metre dash for a try that was converted by Freddie Burns.
However, Stade Francais' responsed in emphatic fashion with the French champions running in three tries in only 10 minutes through Jules Plisson, Waisea Vuidarvuwalu and Rabah Slimani to establish a 19-7 half-time lead.
The home side's forth and bonus point try, came from their rampaging flanker Raphael Lakafia in the 53rd minute shortly after Leicester had lost skipper and hooker Tom Youngs to the sin-bin for a midfield fracas with Slimani.
Lakafia's try more or less ensured Stade - who had scored 26 unanswered points by that point - would go into the quarter-final draw and meant, because Ulster were pushed out of a top-performing runners-up spot, there will be no Irish province in the last eight of the premier European rugby tournament for the first time since 1998.
The Tigers were initially good value for the lead given to them by Tuilagi's score, having totally dominated the opening 20 minutes.
But then the momentum shifted as Stade tightened their discipline as well as increasing the frequency and efficiency of their off-loads.
Plisson, whose final haul was 16 points, got the home side on the scoreboard with a try following good work by Jonathan Danty, with the fly-half also adding the conversion to tie the game 7-7.
Vuidarvuwalu then went over in the left corner on the overlap before prop Slimani powered over for another score soon after, Plisson adding the extras on that occasion having missed his previous conversion attempt, to put Stade 12 points clear.
Plisson also converted the Lakafia score that brought up the crucial bonus point, but the Tigers then regrouped and hit back.
6ft 7in Dom Barrow was at full stretch to touch down a try by the goalposts and he could have been another had the TMO not deemed scrum-half Sam Harrison's inside pass as forward.
There was a third Leicester try from replacement hooker Harry Thacker to close the gap to eight points heading into the final four minutes, but an interception score from replacement centre Geoffrey Doumayrou gave the French side a final flourish as they progressed to the last eight as one of the three best pool runners-up.
