2002 Heineken Cup final

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The 2002 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2001–02 Heineken Cup, the seventh season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 25 May 2002 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff; this was the third time the final had been played in Cardiff after the 1996 and 1997 finals, but the first since the opening of the Millennium Stadium, which was built on the site of the old Cardiff Arms Park for the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

2002 Heineken Cup Final
Event2001–02 Heineken Cup
Date25 May 2002
VenueMillennium Stadium, Cardiff
RefereeJoël Jutge (France)
Attendance74,600
2001
2003

The match was contested by Leicester Tigers of England and Munster of Ireland. Munster were appearing in their second final after losing the 2000 Heineken Cup Final to Northampton Saints. Tigers were the defending champions having beaten Stade Français in the 2001 Heineken Cup Final and were appearing in their third final after losing the 1997 final to Brive.

Leicester Tigers won the match 15–9, becoming the first team to successfully defend the trophy.[1] In the first minute, Tigers had a try by Freddie Tuilagi ruled out for illegal blocking on Munster wing John Kelly.[2] Munster took a 3–0 lead from Ronan O'Gara's penalty before Tigers had a second try ruled out inside the first 10 minutes, Martin Johnson had pounced on a Frankie Sheahan over throw but referee Joël Jutge was not ready and the throw re-taken. After 20 minutes O'Gara slotted his second penalty for a 6–0 lead after Lewis Moody had been ruled offside. Geordan Murphy scored Tigers first try after a sweeping break from Tim Stimpson and dummy before finding Murphy to make it 6–5 when the conversion was missed. A scrum penalty against Darren Garforth gave O'Gara his third penalty goal for a 9–5 lead.

However, once Harry Ellis, a try scorer in the semi-final, was introduced on 52 minutes, the game swung into Leicester's favour. Tigers turned down kicks at goal in search of the try that came when Austin Healey darted over, Tim Stimpson's conversion gave Leicester a 12–9 lead. O'Gara missed an opportunity to level the scorers, and seconds later Stimpson slotted the last points of the game for a 15–9 final score. More drama was to come, as Munster wing Kelly thought he had scored in the corner, only to be denied by a last-ditch cover tackle by man of the match Healey.[3]

In the closing moments of the match, Munster had a midfield scrum close to the 5m line in Leicester's half. With the referee distracted on the other side of the scrum, Leicester's openside flanker Neil Back knocked the ball illegally from Munster scrum-half Peter Stringer's hands before the put-in and Leicester won possession and cleared the ball. This incident was dubbed the "Hand of Back" after the match by the press in reference to Argentinian football player Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" goal scored in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, and was named by The Daily Telegraph in 2022 as "rugby's most famous act of gamesmanship".[4]

Match details

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25 May 2002
15:00 BST
Leicester Tigers  15–9  Munster
Try: Murphy 26' m
Healey 59' c
Con: Stimpson 59'
Pen: Stimpson 70'
ReportPen: O'Gara 7', 20', 49'
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 74,600
Referee: Joël Jutge (France)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Leicester Tigers
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Munster
FB 15   Tim Stimpson
RW 14   Geordan Murphy
OC 13   Ollie Smith   78'
IC 12   Rod Kafer
LW 11   Freddie Tuilagi
FH 10   Austin Healey
SH 9   Jamie Hamilton   52'
N8 8   Martin Corry
OF 7   Neil Back
BF 6   Lewis Moody
RL 5   Ben Kay
LL 4   Martin Johnson (c)
TP 3   Darren Garforth
HK 2   Dorian West
LP 1   Graham Rowntree   74'
Replacements:
SH 16   Harry Ellis   52'
PR 17   Perry Freshwater   74'
CE 18   Glenn Gelderbloom   78'
HK 19   Richard Cockerill
N8 20   Will Johnson
FL 21   Josh Kronfeld
FH 22   Andy Goode
Coach:
  Dean Richards
FB 15   Dominic Crotty   66'
RW 14   John Kelly
OC 13   Rob Henderson   68'
IC 12   Jason Holland
LW 11   John O'Neill
FH 10   Ronan O'Gara
SH 9   Peter Stringer
N8 8   Anthony Foley   53'
OF 7   David Wallace
BF 6   Alan Quinlan
RL 5   Paul O'Connell   62'
LL 4   Mick Galwey (c)
TP 3   John Hayes
HK 2   Frankie Sheahan   18'   29'
LP 1   Peter Clohessy   61'
Replacements:
HK 16   James Blaney   18'   29'
FL 17   Jim Williams   53'
PR 18   Marcus Horan   61'
LK 19   Mick O'Driscoll   62'
FH 20   Jeremy Staunton   66'
WG 21   Mike Mullins   68'
SH 22   Mike Prendergast
Coach:
  Declan Kidney

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tigers retain European Cup". BBC Sport. 9 March 2002. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  2. ^ "Tigers are Heineken champs once again". ESPNscrum. 25 May 2002. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Leicester hang on to defend Heineken crown". ESPNscrum. 25 May 2002. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  4. ^ Morgan, Charlie; Richardson, Charles (27 May 2022). "Hand of Back: 20 years on from rugby's most famous act of gamesmanship". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2024.