Champions Cup: Connacht 27 Bristol 10
On a bitterly cold, windy night in the west, Connacht salvaged a hitherto disappointing Champions Cup campaign with a bonus point win against the side now overseen by their one-time messiah Pat Lam.
In so doing, they extended their season on two fronts, albeit on the premise that Saracens will extract at least a bonus point from their game at home to Lyon on Saturday, that is likely to be in the secondary European competition of their old friend the Challenge Cup.
On an early New Year night of old acquaintances, Pete Wilkins had forewarned this performance was coming, and knowing what invigorates his old province, privately Pat Lam would have feared Connacht’s best performance of the pool stages.
Fired up throughout the 80, their defensive resilience was typified by David Hawkshaw’s two try-saving tackles.
The talk of the town beforehand had been the announcement confirming the Sportsground’s rebranding and renaming, namely the Dexcom Stadium on foot of the Athenry-based medical device company becoming Connacht’s naming rights partner ahead of the ground’s redevelopment. They were welcomed aboard in a prematch video by the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who was also in attendance.
Connacht’s next game at Dexcom Stadium is not until they host the Scarlets on March 2nd, so they needed a big performance. Winning the toss, Connacht elected to play into the wind, and were immediately penned into their own half. But Shamus Hurley-Langton won a turnover penalty when Bristol went to the corner, and this was backed up by Niall Murray winning the ball in the jackal for Jarrad Butler to gallop upfield.
After a trademark Niall Murray lineout steal, a high tackle by AJ MacGinty, back on his old stomping ground, on JJ Hanrahan led to Bundee Aki being launched off a lineout in their first attacking excursion. Off the recycle, David Hawkshaw worked a nice one-two with Tiernan O’Halloran to release Andrew Smith, off his wing, to offload for Shayne Bolton to score.
Worse still for Lam’s team, Caulfield’s red card soon followed. It did look like the Bristol lock was attempting to step over Finlay Bealham in clearing out a ruck after the latter’s tackle, but his studs came down hard on the side of the Connacht prop’s head.
Initially, the Clan Terrace were more shocked than angry, but although Caulfield’s stamp was unintentional, it made for awful viewing and French referee Pierre Brousset had little option, and wasted little time, in brandishing a red card.
John Muldoon, now Connacht’s lineout coach, had kept a few trick plays for this meeting with his mentor, but Harry Randall was wise to the fake, blindside move to deny Bolton.
However, after Smith did superbly to win loose ball on the deck at full stretch, Cian Prendergast made a big carry and after a high tackle on Caolan Blade by Kyle Sinckler, JJ Hanrahan also threatened the line before Jack Aungier (a temporary replacement for Bealham) muscled over.
Hanrahan’s first conversion had been blown off course but helpfully this was scored between the posts and Connacht were 12-0 up, while Sinckler was also yellow carded.
Connacht stretched Bristol repeatedly, ex-Bristol lock releasing, but they held firm, Magnus Bradbury probably saving a try with a ball and all tackle on Bealham. Having held out for 13 men, as Sinckler returned MacGinty landed a penalty.
After Hanrahan limped off to be replaced by Jack Carty and a second, important steal by Murray, Smith was also the protagonist for the third try when winning a turnover penalty. Tadgh McElroy hit Murray and, after the maul inched toward the Bristol line, Blade sniped on the blindside for a good finish.
Bristol didn’t go away, but they were denied a lifeline when Hawkshaw chased down Harry Randall to make a try-saving tackle and even denied Kalaveti Ravouvou as well before Jake Woolmore came in from the side.
Turning around 17-3 ahead, three tries to the good and with the wind behind them, it seemed almost too good to be true for Connacht.
Brousset was replaced, due to a calf injury, during half-time and on the resumption, Connacht worked Smith into space with a scrum penalty advantage and what seemed a superlative finish by Smith, with all bar his right hand airborne and over the touchline, was overruled by the officials on the premise that the winger’s heel brushed the touchline. It was far from conclusive.
After Bolton was denied in the left corner from another scrum penalty advantage, it was a case of third time lucky as Blade again ran right off the base and Carty used the decoy runs of Aki and O’Halloran to hit Smith on the edge for a relatively routine finish to seal the bonus point. Carty even landed an astonishing touchline conversion, meaning that Bristol needed two unanswered converted tries.
After a warm reception for Kieran Marmion, the Bears appeared to have one of them after a slaloming finish by Fijian winger Ravouvou, but replays showed he had been chased down by Prendergast and Hawkshaw.
Further highlighting their desire in defence as well, a lineout maul was held up short, before two more close-range pick-and-goes were also stopped, Sinckler forced into a spillage for Dave Heffernan to make a counter charge.
The siege was lifted by Carty’s intercept-and-kick downfield. The Clan Terrace enjoyed that and, fittingly on the day that was in it, prompted the night’s loudest rendition of The Fields of Athenry.
After Carty tagged on a penalty, the pedantic replacement referee awarded a penalty try with the last play of the game, but it was immaterial.
Scoring sequence: 8 mins Bolton try 5-0; 20 mins Aungier try, Hanrahan con 12-0; 31 mins MacGinty pen 12-3; 33 mins Blade try 17-3; (half-time 17-3); 46 mins Smith try, Carty con 24-3; 79 mins Carty pen 27-3; 82 mins penalty try 27-10.
Connacht: Tiernan O’Halloran; Andrew Smith, David Hawkshaw, Bundee Aki, Shayne Bolton; JJ Hanrahan, Caolin Blade (capt); Denis Buckley, Tadgh McElroy, Finlay Bealham, Niall Murray, Joe Joyce, Cian Prendergast, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Jarrad Butler.
Replacements: Jack Aungier for Bealham (14-21 mins and half-time), Jack Carty for Hanrahan (29 mins), Bealham for Aungier (55 mins), Dave Heffernan for McElroy, Peter Dooley for Buckley (both 55 mins), Oisin Dowling for Murray, Oran McNulty for O’Halloran (both 57 mins), Conor Oliver for Butler (60 mins), Michael McDonald for Blade (73 mins).
Bristol Bears: Max Malins; Kalaveti Ravouvou, Virimi Vakatawa, Bernhard Janse van Rensburg, Gabriel Ibitoye; AJ MacGinty, Harry Randall; Jake Woolmore, Gabriel Oghre, Kyle Sinckler, Josh Caulfield, Joe Batley, Steven Luatua, Fitz Harding (capt), Magnus Bradbury.
Replacements: Max Lahiff for Ravouvou (24-30 mins) and for Woolmore (48 mins), Will Capon for Oghre (44 mins), Kieran Marmion for Randall (52 mins), James Williams for Vakatawa (53 mins), Dan Thomas for Harding (60 mins), Piers O’Conor for Williams (64 mins), Joe Owen for Thomas (67 mins), Sam Grahanslaw for Sinckler (74 mins).
Sinbinned: Sinckler (20-30 mins).
Sent off: Caulfield (14 mins).
Referee: Pierre Brousset (FRA) (Rep Pierre Baptiste Nuchy, Fra, half-time).
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