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My Leicester Tigers awards - by Martin Crowson

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The domestic rugby season is now well and truly over and, as the dust settles on another eventful nine months, it is the traditional time for award ceremonies.

So, in Harry Hill style, here are my awards for the past season...

The Steam Out of the Ears Award: London Welsh v Leicester Tigers

The perils of the M1, M25, M6 and M40 are commonplace for any Tigers fan. But nothing could compete with the drastic situation on the opening day of the season at London Welsh's Kassam Stadium. So long was the queue on the one road into the ground, with the game already having kicked-off, that fans simply gave up, turned around and went home in utter frustration.

The Media Darling Award: Jonny Wilkinson

Just when you thought England's World Cup winner would swoon off into the Toulon sunset for a well-deserved pension, he put together two clinical goal-kicking performances in high-profile matches, against Leicester and Saracens, to book his side a place in the Heineken Cup final. Faultless in interviews, self-deprecating and showing astonishing skills in his www.fineside.com videos, is there anything this man still cannot do?

The Watching Paint Dry Award: Saracens v Leicester Tigers (Wembley Stadium)

Thank goodness there was a marvellous stadium to look at because the fayre offered up in the 9-9 draw at Wembley was as tedious as it gets. Defences on top, up-and-unders at a premium and nothing to cheer. Even the Mexican Wave couldn't be bothered.

The Surreal Moment Award: Toulon (Heineken Cup)

One of the strangest moments of my time in the business came in Toulon. Filing my copy on the phone in a toilet – pausing every time someone else flushed so I could hear myself think – was not on the original plans. I doubt the dreadful facilities and lack of WiFi were on ERC's plans either.

The Hairs on the Back of Your Neck Award: Toulon

Thousands of people crowded on to roads, pavements, flats, trees and phone boxes (I kid you not) to gain a vantage point of the Toulon team making their entrance to the Stade Felix Mayol on foot. The noise and passion created was simply incredible. The noise when Tigers came out for their Premiership semi-final against Harlequins was not far off.

The Comeback Kids: Jordan Crane and Tom Croft

Both men sustained injuries that could have ended their careers but both men have fought back to play the best rugby of their lives. Croft broke his neck but is in Australia playing for the Lions, while Crane was out for 12 months with a horrific knee injury and came back to be a major player in a team-leading 31 of Tigers' 36 games last season.

The Fond Farewell: Matt O'Connor

Martin Castrogiovanni will be sorely missed and Geordan Murphy's genius on the pitch will never be replaced but head coach Matt O'Connor's input on both attack and defence was immense. He goes to Leinster as top man and the smoothness of the transition to life without him will be crucial to Tigers' hopes.

The Open Mouthed In Awe Award: The haka at Welford Road

The Moari All Blacks did the traditional war dance at the start of their game against the Tigers at Welford Road to complete silence. With a packed ground, void of the sort of noise that greets the haka at international matches, it made for a noisy and simply stunning spectacle.

The Worst Decision of the Season Award: Referee Alain Rolland v Treviso

Alain Rolland's bizarre decision to award Treviso a penalty try for a collapsed maul 10 metres away from the Leicester try-line will take some beating for years to come. It nearly cost Tigers – as did his decision to wait for six re-set scrums before awarding Tigers a match- winning try in the final seconds.

The Soak It All In Award: Northampton 8 Leicester 36

There have been some memorable wins for Tigers to enjoy over their bitterest rivals in the last 18 months. For any Tigers fan who enjoys heaping as much misery on their nearest opponents, the manner of the 36-8 destruction at Franklin's Gardens in late March will take some beating.

My Leicester Tigers awards - by Martin Crowson


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