Murphy Eyes Treble chance

Frank Murphy, third-choice scrum half when he arrived from Cork last summer, is ready to answer the emergency amid growing fears that Harry Ellis's knee injury will send the Tigers, who have already won the Anglo-Welsh trophy, into the English and European deciders without their country's supreme No 9.

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Ellis, helped off 25 minutes from the end of the home semifinal win over Bristol, will undergo a second scan today after the first was understood to have shown signs of sufficient damage to rule him out of his club's push for the summit.

England can only hope he is fit for September's World Cup. With their other experienced scrum half, Scott Bemand, a long-term absentee, Murphy is next in line to appear in Saturday's Premiership Grand Final against Gloucester.

Leicester head coach Pat Howard said: "This is a significant loss in a position where we are thin. Harry has been fantastic and it would be disappointing to lose him."

It raises the prospect of Murphy staying in possession for the European Cup Final against Wasps the following week, 12 months after watching his native Munster win it as third choice last year.

Howard said of the uncapped 26-year-old: "Frank's been doing well — nice distribution, good from the base. He's played a fair number of games for us already."

The club's only other scrum half, Ben Youngs, 17-year-old son of Nick, six times an England scrum half in the mid-Eighties, has two minutes of Premiership experience as a substitute wing at Bristol a fortnight ago.

Ellis's rotten luck will reinforce Gloucester's belief in their ability to prevent the Leicester monopoly. The Shed-ites will invade HQ in fighting mood, rightly outraged at my reference to the razing of their terraced temple, an inaccuracy which deserves to be put in the same category as Mark Twain's response to reading his obituary in the New York Journal: "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."

After knocking Saracens into a cocked hat, Gloucester will go to work on their ultimate test fired by the fact that they have won two and drawn one of their last three Premiership matches against Leicester. All talk of a Tigers Treble will be devoured around the Kingsholm building site as grist to the 'Glawster' mill.

Leicester fans rose as one to acclaim the winning end to Howard's last match at Welford Road. To the sound of Waltzing Matilda on the public address, the departing Aussie gave a presidential salute to all corners of the ground.

He had hatched the idea of the Treble himself before putting it to Martin Corry and the senior players during a pre-season training camp. It turned out to be a major factor in one of Howard's less publicised but most influential signings, fitness coach Craig White from Wasps.

Howard said: "I said: "Look, mate, I want you to come to this club because I think we can win all three competitions. It's never been done and it would make us one of the great teams if we can do it".

"Win two and we compare with the Leicester teams I played in. But to win three sets you apart. That was how I sold it to Craig. I believed it. We are a big club and have some talent.

"We drew up a plan to win three knowing it could backfire but most of those plans have come off. The players deserve to be recognised as one of the great teams if not the best of the professional era."

They did just enough to end Bristol's wonderful season, running in tries through Ellis and Geordan Murphy, while Andy Goode scored 16 points with the boot. Bristol's only try came through Sam Cox.

Richard Hill's team, ahead briefly and competitive to the end, have won the right to play in the Heineken Cup next season and their head coach sees no future in the Anglo-French boycott of the tournament.

He said: "It's not easy to juggle the Premiership and the Heineken. The trick for us will be to play in the exciting, big European games and make sure it's not at the expense of our League form."