Party time for Croft (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Party time for Croft

8:00am Monday 31st May 2010 in

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NORTH Hampshire’s Tom Croft helped Leicester to a third Guinness Premiership title in four years as the Tigers overcame Saracens at Twickenham on Saturday.

The 24-year-old, who grew up in Kingsclere, played the full 80 |minutes as Leicester won a thrilling Premiership final 33-27.

Croft went close to scoring the opening try of the game, knocking on two yards from the line after a fine tackle from Hugh Vyvyan – but Leicester had the better of an |entertaining first half.

They led 20-14 at the break thanks to tries from Matt Smith and Ben Youngs – with Ernst Joubert crossing the line for Saracens.

Joubert added a second try after the break to get Saracens within striking distance and they snatched the lead with a penalty in the closing stages. However, Leicester and Croft were not to be denied, as Dan Hipkiss scored straight from the kick-off to get what proved to be the winning try.

Croft must now turn his attention to England as he joins up with the national side for their two-test tour of Australia.

See The Monday Gazette for a full report of Croft’s big day at Twickenham.