Rugby Celtic League: Connacht - 17 Celtic Warriors - 40 Mixing the sublime with the abject, Connacht's return to Celtic League action resulted in a fall from the dizzy heights of their recent European campaign.
Ahead by 17-3 by the 20th minute, Connacht looked set to continue their fine Challenge Cup form. Instead Saturday evening's opponents, Celtic Warriors, smarting from failure to qualify for the Heineken European Cup quarter-finals, wrested the initiative for the remainder of the match, making Connacht pay for a lacklustre display.
Connacht's Parker Pen campaign was undoubtedly a factor in a flat performance that not even the second-half introduction of Eric Elwood, Damien Browne and Bernard Jackman could rescue.
"It was an uncharacteristic display. The players looked tired and the excitement of the last couple of weeks obviously had an effect," said coach Michael Bradley. "It was a game we should have won and I thought we would. We had a comfortable lead until we gave away two soft tries and then we lost our confidence a little and could not get out of our 22."
It had started promisingly for Connacht when they grabbed two early tries. They made possession count in their first real attacking passage, mauling powerfully before delivering out wide and, from third phase, outhalf David Hewitt burst through to score under the posts.
Things got better when Mark McHugh added a 16th-minute penalty after Ted Robinson's driving effort forced the Warriors to offend, and when the Welsh full back Gareth Wyatt failed to gather a long pass out wide, Conor McPhillips simply picked up and raced untouched from halfway for a classic opportunistic try. McHugh's conversion made it 3- 17 on 20 minutes.
Yet the Warriors' response was swift as they capitalised on a mounting penalty count against Connacht to score two tries in a 10-minute period of dominance.
Their superior scrum provided the platform for both, with Tongan left wing Aisea Havili benefiting from quick delivery in a double loop with outhalf Neil Jenkins to canter in for the first after 29 minutes. And when the home outfit once again opted for the scrum, centre and captain Jon Bryant took clean possession and stepped out of Chris Keane's tackle to score in a similar position.
Although missing nine players, with eight on Six Nations duty, the Warriors used the wind in the second half and let veteran Jenkins do the business with the boot - he contributed 18 points.
When prop Chris Horsman scored from a pushover after 52 minutes, there was no comeback for Connacht, and the Warriors crowned their victory in the 76th minute when replacement number eight Ryan Jones went in under the posts for a fourth try.
It capped a disappointing night for Connacht - their third successive Celtic League defeat.
"Our target for this set of four matches is still attainable, but we need to get results in the next three games, starting in Edinburgh next Friday," said Bradley.
Scoring sequence: 5 mins: Jenkins pen 3-0; 10: Hewitt try, McHugh con 3-7; 16: McHugh pen 3-10; 20: McPhillips try, McHugh con 3-17; 29: Havili try, Jenkins con 10-17; 37: Bryant try, Jenkins con 17-17. Half-time: 17-17; 46: Jenkins pen 20-17; 52: Horsman try, Jenkins con 27-17; 65: Jenkins pen 30-17; 76: R Jones try, Jenkins con 40-17.
CONNACHT: M Mostyn; T Robinson, D Yapp (capt), M McHugh, C McPhillips; D Hewitt, C Keane; W O'Kelly, J Fogarty, A Clarke, M McCarthy, A Farley, M Swift, P Neville, J O'Sullivan. Replacements: T Allnutt for Yapp (half-time); P Bracken for O'Kelly (half-time); E Elwood for Hewitt, C O'Loughlin for Keane (53 mins); D Browne for McCarthy (55 mins); B Jackman for Fogarty (65 mins); T Carter for Neville (78 mins). Sin-binned: Robinson (73 mins).
CELTIC WARRIORS: G Wyatt; D James, S James, J Bryant (capt), A Havili; N Jenkins, S Martens; C Loader, M Rees, C Horsman, N Kelly, D Jones, M Molitika, C Harris, R Parks. Replacements: R Jones for Parks (62 mins); R Muster for Havili (65 mins); M Jones for Horsman (76 mins); C Balshen for Rees, P John for Molitika (80 mins); M Powell for D Jones (81 mins).
Referee: Andy Ireland (Scotland).
