Connacht twice came from behind, including clawing back a 16-point first half deficit, to post a stirring 38-31 bonus point victory over hosts Brive and maintain their lead of Challenge Cup Pool 5.
Out-half Jack Carty was hugely influential for the visitors, tallying up 23 points which were made up of a try, three conversions and four penalties. The in-form Athlone man landed seven of his eight kicks at goal and had a key involement in some of Connacht’s best attacks.
Ultan Dillane scored only the second try of his provincial career and backs Kieran Marmion and Cian Kelleher also touched down, the latter claiming a hard-earned 61st-minute bonus point in what was a team performance full of character, determination and some real spark in attack.
Battling Brive pocketed two bonus points for their efforts, crossing the whitewash twice while Connacht captain John Muldoon was in the sin-bin. However, they lost their grip on a 19-3 lead and were left chasing Kieran Keane’s men down the final stretch.
Winger Guillaume Namy’s 71st-minute try was the final score of a fiercely-contested game that leaves the French club seven points behind in the pool table ahead of next week’s trip to Galway. Worcester Warriors are second on 11 points with Connacht leading the way with 14.
After some poor recent showings in the GUINNESS PRO14, Connacht resumed their European campaign looking for a big performance and result in the Nouvelle region of France. They won a penalty from the first scrum and after some good work by young flanker Cillian Gallagher, on his first start, following a Marmion box-kick, Carty opened the scoring with a sixth minute penalty.
The vocal travelling support at Stade Amédée-Domenech gave ‘The Fields of Athenry’ an early airing, but Connacht’s streak of indiscipline saw the penalty count rise against them and one too many collapsed mauls saw referee Craig Maxwell-Keys bin Muldoon. Brive used the subsequent lineout to develop a strong maul and send their Portuguese hooker Mike Tadjer over for a 15th minute try.
Gaetan Germain, a prolific place-kicker in the Top 14 over the past few seasons, converted and also brilliantly added the extras to a 24th minute try from scrum half Florian Cazenave, who profited from turnover ball to score in the corner.
Following Muldoon’s return to the pitch, former Munster and France prop Julien Brugnaut crossed for Brive’s third try at the end of an excellent move started by 20-year-old winger Nadir Megdoud.
Now 19-3 in arrears, Connacht rescued the situation with a timely rally approaching half-time. They lifted their game on the back of Dillane’s score on the half hour mark, the product of a Muldoon-won lineout and good approach work by the sidestepping Tiernan O’Halloran, and scrum half Marmion scampered through a gap for a well-taken 39th-minute try, narrowing the margin to just two points (19-17).
European debutant Pita Ahki joined new Ireland international Bundee Aki in Connacht’s midfield, and the centre duo, who were particularly effective in defence, grew in influence as the game wore on. It was helter-skelter stuff on the resumption, though, as both defences were opened up and the lead changed hands three times by the 50-minute mark.
Connacht kept up their momentum from late in the first half with Marmion making an early break and Carty booting the westerners ahead with a 43rd minute penalty. Brive bit back barely two minutes later when Tadjer had a carbon copy of his earlier try, touching down from the back of a well-executed rolling maul. Germain landed the difficult conversion from out wide for a 26-20 lead.
Carty then stepped up to take centre stage with a tremendous individual try, breaking over the halfway line and leaving Germain for dead with a delicious dummy before pinning his ears back and racing in under the posts.
His simple conversion moved Connacht back in front and the gap was out to four points after a further penalty from Carty, following a Conor Carey turnover and a Kelleher try-scoring opportunity which saw him just lose control of the ball.
The busy winger got the try he deserved just a couple of minutes later, TMO confirmation coming after the westerners had worked the ball wide through Carty’s boot and O’Halloran’s final pass put Kelleher sliding over in the right corner. Carty missed the conversion but tagged on a penalty to give the visitors a 12-point cushion with as many minutes remaining.
Brive responded with Namy’s unconverted effort from a free-flowing move from deep, making it a seven-point game and giving the home side a shot at earning a late draw or better. Connacht stood firm, though, and aided by a James Cannon lineout steal and some robust defensive work by the likes of Muldoon and Tom McCartney, they took a step closer to securing a home quarter-final.
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