Leicester match winner Tim Stimpson admitted that the Tigers did not deserve to edge their Heineken Cup clash with Perpignan in France.

Stimpson's injury-time penalty earned Leicester a 31-30 triumph, which will almost certainly be enough to steer the trophy holders into the knock-out stages.

Winger Steve Booth grabbed the only try of the game, with the boots of Stimpson and Thierry Lacroix dominating the contest.

"It was not a spectacular game and Thierry Lacroix stole the show," said Stimpson, whose personal haul was 23 points.

"Thierry deserved the man of the match award because Perpignan played the better rugby and were a bit unlucky to lose.

"But our strength is that we do not panic and when they put pressure on us, we played our most consistent rugby in the last 20 minutes.

"I made sure of the last kick by following the routine of head down and a clean follow through with the leg.

"My main motivation is to use self-hatred in my mental preparation. I did not want to let my team down when in the first half I missed a couple of kicks and I had to redeem myself. I could not forgive myself if we had lost by just a few points."

Tigers have now equalled Brive's tournament record of nine successive wins and will hold the title on their own if they can score another win over tonight's opposition at Welford Road in seven days.

The win also helped dispel the pre-match fears of Leicester coach Dean Richards, who was worried the match officials may not be able to handle the intense atmosphere.

"I cannot criticise the referee, he was totally consistent, and that's what I told my players at half time," he said.

"We turned over too much possession in the first half but we became more controlled after the interval."