Connacht recorded a last-gasp win at the Stade Jean Dauger tonight, beating Bayonne 29-27 in a rip-roaring round 4 clash in the European Challenge Cup.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: BAYONNE 27 CONNACHT 29
On his very first start for the province, Academy scrum half Caolin Blade scored a try in each half. Captain Miah Nikora, who kicked 19 points in all, converted Blade’s 77th-minute score to put Pat Lam’s men in front for the first time in the game.
It was a tense finish when Bayonne were awarded a penalty right on 80 minutes, but try-scoring centre Mathieu Ugalde sent his last-gasp kick wide as Connacht maintained their push for a quarter-final berth.
It was a hugely encouraging result for rugby in the west, especially as Blade, Conor Finn, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham, Daniel Qualter and senior debutant James Connolly (pictured below) were all making their first European starts for the province.
Young prop Saba Meunargia also made his senior bow for Connacht off the bench, while fellow 20-year-old front rower Shane Delahunt was another Challenge Cup first-timer.
The much-changed Connacht team got off to a poor start when they were turned over on the Bayonne 22, and Fijian winger Saimoni Vaka burst clear, taking advantage of a Darragh Leader slip to run in a smashing opening try. The conversion was fired over by skipper Christophe Loustalot.
Nikora cut the gap to four points with a finely-struck penalty from outside the 10-metre line, and the game began to open up further with quick-fire scoring chances at both ends.
Blade and full-back Leader had to react smartly to deny Vaka his second try, while Nikora missed his second penalty effort after going the cross-field kick route in an attempt to connect with Leader.
Bayonne, though, were proving more clinical with ball in hand. They pushed Connacht off their own scrum ball and a subsequent chip through set up Ugalde to score. Loustalot added the extras for a 14-6 scoreline.
As the Bayonne scrum maintained the upper hand, Connacht needed a spark of attacking inspiration and they got it from Leader. He made a brilliant break which paved the way for the supporting Blade to dive over for his first senior try for Connacht.
The visitors were really building momentum now with Nikora’s conversion, coupled with a penalty on the half hour mark, reducing the arrears to a single point. That margin was still in place at the break (17-16), with Loustalot and Nikora ending an entertaining first half with two more penalties.
That improved second quarter display gave this young Connacht outfit plenty of hope for the remainder of the contest, however they allowed Bayonne to steal a march on them again on the resumption.
The fast-breaking Vaka made it up to the Connacht 22 and although the supporting Ugalde was stopped before the try-line, he got his offload away for winger Pierre Sayerse to dive over and score the hosts’ third try.
Loustalot converted once more and in what looked to be a defining moment in the game, the powerful Bayonne pack won another scrum against the head and Loustalot hammered the resulting penalty through the uprights from the 10-metre line.
Connacht now had it all to do at 27-16 down, but a key interception by centre Craig Ronaldson saw the visitors claw back some much-needed territory. A follow-up penalty from Nikora got the scoreboard moving again for them.
Into the final quarter, the Connacht forwards turned the tables on Bayonne by winning a relieving scrum penalty and Leader’s big right boot saw them march downfield. Some more hard work at the coalface won a 67th minute penalty which Nikora nailed to bring the deficit back to just five points.
It was all to play for, suddenly. The nippy Blade took a free-kick quickly to set up Ronaldson for a chip through but Bayonne were alive to the danger.
However, there was nothing they could do when Nikora set up a five-metre lineout and following a well-executed maul and a strong carry from Michael Swift, the ever-alert Blade dumied to make it over from close range. Amid jeers from the home fans, Nikora held his nerve to tag on the all-important conversion at 29-27.
Bayonne raided through to reach the Connacht 22 in the dying seconds, digging deep to win a penalty and a shot at a late victory. But Ugalde missed the kick and there were joyous scenes as the westerners’ wonderful fight-back kept them in the hunt in Pool 2.
Lam’s buoyant squad sit just two points behind leaders Exeter Chiefs who have to visit the Sportsground in round 5 in mid-January.
Speaking afterwards, Nikora said Connacht’s ‘desire and belief was key’ to getting the result and acknowledged that captaining the province was ‘one of the proudest moments’ of his rugby career.
Savouring the win on French soil, Connacht head Lam commented: “I am extremely proud of that victory. I know there is a bit of criticism with our team selection and I said before the game I have true faith in our squad. It is not about the individual, it is about the Connacht systems and the way we train and the structure.
“Everyone that puts that jersey on – we want to make that jersey so special that you put it on and there is responsibility and there is competition. You just have to keep having that out there.”
Asked about the performance of two-try hero Blade, he added: “He is like a pig-hunter really. He just loves that. He had a tremendous game. We do a lot of work around running around the rucks and we have to have an option around the ruck so not to always be so predictable.
“He ran that perfectly and he is a real battler out there, he knows there is still work-ons in his game but to come out there and show a lot of maturity, that is what he is really good at.”
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