New Tigers head coach Heyneke Meyer selected the 18-year-old as a replacement for the Tigers' first pre-season game of their campaign in the south of France.

Senior internationals Martin Castrogiovanni and Lewis Moody were among the long-term injured, but the Tigers side was still packed with international experience such as Martin Corry, Julian White and Geordan Murphy.

The talented young wing came on after the interval and after a nervy start, came into his own, reproducing the form which earned him a hat-trick of tries for England Under 18s against Argentina Under 18s in Buenos Aires earlier this month.

Tries from Sam Vesty, Aaron Mauger and debutant Ben Woods gave Leicester a 21-14 half-time lead before Hurrell's introduction. The French came out quickly and two tries and a penalty gave them a 29-21 lead.

But up stepped Hurrell. After a swift Tigers move, working the ball from right to left, Hurrell raced 50 metres and showed his physical prowess as well as pace by shrugging off one tackle and spinning out of another before reaching out for his first try.

It got even better just a minute later when Hurrell burst through from 20 metres out to dive under the posts and put Tigers 35-29 ahead after the conversion.

But despite withstanding a prolonged period of French pressure, Biarritz converted a penalty and scored a 78th minute try to edge a thrilling 37-35 win.