diff --git a/grails-web-taglib/src/main/groovy/org/grails/web/taglib/WebRequestTemplateVariableBinding.java b/grails-web-taglib/src/main/groovy/org/grails/web/taglib/WebRequestTemplateVariableBinding.java
index dd368e98..a4eff959 100644
--- a/grails-web-taglib/src/main/groovy/org/grails/web/taglib/WebRequestTemplateVariableBinding.java
+++ b/grails-web-taglib/src/main/groovy/org/grails/web/taglib/WebRequestTemplateVariableBinding.java
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ public Object evaluate(GrailsWebRequest webRequest) {
         });
         m.put("applicationContext", new LazyRequestBasedValue() {
             public Object evaluate(GrailsWebRequest webRequest) {
-                return webRequest.getAttributes().getApplicationContext();
+                return webRequest.getApplicationContext();
             }
         });
         m.put("grailsApplication", new LazyRequestBasedValue() {