Sorcerer Wilkinson outguns apprentice Flood

The former England fly-half slotted six penalties and a drop-goal in a virtually flawless display to out-fire Toby Flood and the Tigers and seal a semi-final berth.

The two sides had never met in a competitive fixture and twice champions Leicester entered the pitch to mass jeers.

They handled the red-hot pressure and made the brighter start at the rapturous Stade Felix Mayol.

But Toulon fought back to reach the last four of Europe’s premier club competition for the first time.

They will now face Saracens at Twickenham in the final weekend of April.

Paul O’Connell inspired Munster to an 18-12 victory over Harlequins and was immediately tipped to make a big impression on the British and Irish Lions tour.

O’Connell was man of the match as Munster produced a devastating second-half performance to down the English champions, with veteran fly-half Ronan O’Gara kicking all the points.

O’Gara landed four penalties in the first 16 minutes of the second half – six in total – to overturn a 9-6 deficit and seal Munster a semi-final spot against Clermont Auvergne in Montpellier.

O’Connell, hailed by Harlequins director of rugby Conor O’Shea as arguably the greatest Ireland lock ever, only returned to action from back surgery two weeks ago.

Munster coach Rob Penney expects him to be back to his peak just in time for the Lions Test series against Australia.

“He hasn’t played a lot recently and he will get better with more game time. I suspect that by late June and early July, he will be humming,” said Penney said.

Saracens boss Mark McCall saluted his players’ “unbelievable” work ethic after they booked a semi-final place against Toulon at Twickenham.

The Premiership leaders’ 27-16 victory over Ulster was secured through tries by England wing Chris Ashton and England back-row hopeful Will Fraser. Fly-half Owen Farrell kicked 17 points, with Ulster reduced to Iain Henderson’s late try, plus three penalties and a conversion from scrum-half Ruan Pienaar.

“They were probably the best team we had played all season,” said McCall.

Clermont Auvergne marched into the semi-finals with a commanding 36-14 win over Montpellier.

The hosts ran in five tries, with their opponents’ only five-pointer coming in the last minute.