Holmes scores four as Tigers claw the French
LEICESTER welcomed back their England World Cup men, only for Welsh international Jonah Holmes to upstage them all by scoring four tries.
Holmes, who missed out on a Wales place in Japan, scored two in each half to fire Leicester to this opening win in the Challenge Cup.
Pau, who named a team vastly different to the one that won in the Top 14 last week, had plenty of possession and were held up over the Leicester line three times in the first half.
However, Pau ended up losing by five tries to two as Leicester took all their chances.
They were inspired by Holmes whose second try in the first half was the most memorable as he skinned wing Watisoni Votu and fly-half Tom Taylor down the right.
He was backed up by a try from substitute wing George Worth and the accurate goal-kicking of England’s George Ford who landed all his kicks for a return of 13 points.
By recalling their England gang, Leicester have made a clear statement that they mean to be a force in the Challenge Cup – their first campaign in this secondary competition.
The Tigers need to deliver judging by the stern pre-match words from their main officials in the match programme that stressed the disappointment of recent results including the defeat at London Irish.
Head coach Geordan Murphy said his England players had returned to the club a few days after the World Cup and had trained very well.
“We planned to do this and will look after them in the coming months,” he said.
However, an imminent rest is unlikely as Leicester face Cardiff Blues away next Saturday in the Challenge Cup, followed by a trip to Northampton when the Premiership re-starts.
After a penalty each for Ford and his opposite number, New Zealander Tom Taylor, it took a break from England’s Ben Youngs to ignite the match.
Youngs dashed clear in midfield to set up the attack that led to Worth, a sixthminute substitute for Sam Aspland-Robinson, to score in the right corner.
Ford converted, and two minutes later the fly-half had a far easier task to add the extras after Holmes galloped clear of the defence for an interception try.
The wing grabbed his chance thanks to a haphazard Pau attack following a kick and chase by full-back Vincent Pinto. Holmes accepted the gift to complete a simple chance.
His second was the best of his scores. The way he beat two Pau defenders down the right touchline to dot down was an outstanding moment.
It left the Pau coaches despairing as their team gifted Leicester another try. This time they had conceded after breaking up a home attack only to lose possession, allowing Ford to set up the counter-attack.
A second penalty from Taylor gave Pau some hope at half-time when they turned around 24-13 down.
Leicester, who had never dominated up front, showed their capabilities when one excellent move tightened their grip six minutes into the second half.
The slickness of passes by Youngs and Ford made space out wide and Holmes finished off in the corner for his hat-trick score.
Ford converted for a lead of 31-13 that was cut when Pau, again enjoying the best of the play up front, engineered a try for substitute lock Fabrice Metz which Taylor converted. This added to the first-half try from captain Thibault Daubagna.
The second half was spoiled by a fractious scrum and several handbags episodes prompted by the arrival of the always combative Ellis Genge.
To make sure of victory Leicester needed a penalty from Noel Reid, after Ford had gone off, and a final try from the alert Holmes.