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 Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

competition. The match was played on 25 May 2002 at the Millennium Stadium in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

; this was the third time the final had been played in Cardiff after the 1996 and

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

finals, but the first since the opening of the Millennium Stadium, which was built on the site of the old

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British ...

for the 1999 Rugby World Cup. 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 The 2000 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 1999–2000 Heineken Cup, the fifth season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 27 May 2000 at Twickenham Stadium in London. The match was contested by Nort ...

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

. 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. In the first minute, Tigers had a try by

Freddie Tuilagi Fereti Tuilagi (born 9 June 1971) is a Samoan former professional rugby footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. After playing rugby union at international level, he turned professional and played rugby league for English clubs Halifax Blue Sox and ...

ruled out for illegal blocking on Munster wing John Kelly. Munster took a 3–0 lead from

Ronan O'Gara Ronan John Ross O'Gara ( ga, Rónán Ó Gadhra; born 7 March 1977) is an Irish former rugby union player and current coach. O'Gara played as a fly-half and is Ireland's second most-capped player and highest ever points scorer. He is currently ...

's penalty before Tigers had a second try ruled out inside the first 10 minutes, Martin Johnson had pounced on a

Frankie Sheahan Frankie Sheahan (born August 27, 1976) is a retired professional Irish rugby union player. During his career, Sheahan played for Munster from 1996 until 2009 and for Ireland from 2000 until 2007. Sheahan played his whole career as a hooker. H ...

over throw but referee

Joël Jutge Joël Jutge (born 5 April 1966 in Lavaur, Tarn) is a former French international rugby union referee. He made his international refereeing debut in a 2000 match between Italy and Romania in Naples. Jutge decided to be a referee in 1991 after hi ...

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 Lewis Walton Moody MBE (born 12 June 1978 in Ascot) is an English retired rugby union player. He played for Leicester Tigers and Bath Rugby and was part of the 2003 World Cup winning side. Moody is known for the enthusiasm with which he pla ...

had been ruled offside.

Geordan Murphy Geordan Edward Andrew Murphy (born 19 April 1978) is an Irish rugby union coach and former player. He played as fullback or wing both for the Irish international team and the English club Leicester Tigers. Youth Murphy was born in Dublin, Ire ...

scored Tigers first try after a sweeping break from

Tim Stimpson Timothy Richard George Stimpson (born 10 September 1973 in Liverpool) is a former rugby union international full back (and occasional wing). During his career he played for Wakefield, West Hartlepool, Newcastle Falcons, Leicester Tigers, Perp ...

and dummy before finding Murphy to make it 6–5 when the conversion was missed. A scrum penalty against

Darren Garforth Darren Garforth (born 9 April 1966) is a former international rugby union player who played tighthead prop for Leicester Tigers and England. Garforth was born in Coventry, signed for Leicester Tigers and made his Leicester debut against Nor ...

gave O'Gara his third penalty goal for a 9–5 lead. However, once

Harry Ellis Harry Alistair Ellis (born 17 May 1982 in Leicester) is a retired English rugby union footballer who played scrum half for Leicester Tigers, England and the British & Irish Lions. On 8 July 2010, Ellis announced his retirement from the game ...

, 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 Austin Sean Healey (born 26 October 1973 in Wallasey (now part of Merseyside, formerly Cheshire), is a former English rugby union player who played as a utility back for Leicester Tigers, and represented both England and the British & Irish L ...

darted over,

'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, though, 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.

Match details

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heineken Cup

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

2002 2001–02 in Irish rugby union 2001–02 in Welsh rugby union Sports competitions in Cardiff 2001–02 in English rugby union 2000s in Cardiff Leicester Tigers matches Munster Rugby matches

Match details

See also

References