Leicester turn up the heat
January 26 2010
As the ERC begins an official investigation into the Ospreys' use of a 16th man on Saturday, Leicester CEO Peter Wheeler is demanding a replay.
The Tigers are furious that Lee Byrne came back onto the field unannounced in the 71st minute of the match and helped prevent a Leicester attack, while the man he was set to replace, Sonny Parker, was still on the field.
The ERC began an investigation into the farce on Monday, amid suggestions that the Ospreys were ready to make a counter claim that Leicester also had 16 players on the field at the same time.
Wheeler turned up the heat on Monday though, in calling for the match to be replayed. Hitherto, the suggestions had been that the Ospreys would face only a significant fine for the transgression as per tournament rules.
"We were pressing on their line and we had three or four periods of attack during the time they had 16 men on the field," Wheeler said.
"The player [Byrne] who came on interfered or was involved in at least two of them close to the line.
"Any neutral person who saw that happen would say it affected the result of the game.
"We want what is right and fair for that situation. The only way to put us back in that situation is to replay the game."
"It was our best opportunity of the match to score and we've inquired to ERC to say where do we go from here?"