Leicester have secured their eighth English club rugby title when they used all their experience to overcome London Irish 10-9 in a tense Premiership final at Twickenham.
England's most successful club were appearing in the final for the fifth year in a row, having won only one of the last four, and fell behind to a Peter Hewat drop goal after 21 seconds for a London Irish side seeking their first title but who paid the price for three first-half penalty misses.
Leicester were below their best but made it 3-all at halftime with a Julien Dupuy penalty and though Irish soon regained the lead, the favourites surged clear with a converted Jordan Crane try after 61 minutes.
A second penalty for Delon Armitage, from inside his own half, closed the gap to a point and set up a tense finale but Leicester, who face Leinster in next weekend's Heineken Cup final, held out.
