Connacht Enjoy Five-Try Triumph In Geneva

Matt Healy scored two of Connacht’s five tries as they put Oyonnax to the sword to win tonight’s Challenge Cup opener 43-15 at Stade de Genève.

Although they have struggled for form early on in the GUINNESS PRO14, Connacht displayed their European pedigree again with their twelfth win in 13 pool matches against Top 14 opposition. Australian out-half Andrew Deegan, making only his second start for the province, kicked 18 points in a man-of-the-match performance.

Matt Healy, Cian Kelleher and Eoin McKeon all touched down inside the first 22 minutes, but tries from Ivorian full-back Silvere Tian and Argentinian winger Axel Muller had the French side right back in contention. Deegan’s 38th-minute penalty gave Connacht a 22-15 buffer at the break.

The Randwick youngster’s reliable right boot landed two more penalties, either side of Healy’s 51st-minute bonus point score, as Kieran Keane’s men marched into a 20-point lead, looking right at home on the resplendent Geneva pitch whereas Oyonnax were struggling.

Connacht book-ended the final quarter with a fourth successful penalty from Deegan and a try out wide from full-back Darragh Leader, making it 21 unanswered points in the second half and giving themselves a jolt of confidence ahead of three crunch home games against Worcester Warriors, Munster and the Toyota Cheetahs.

Craving the win that could kick-start their season, Connacht fell behind to an early Christopher Ruiz penalty before putting together some of their best attacking phases for some time, full of slick handling and incisive running. Using John Muldoon’s quick lineout, Deegan made the initial break for the first try which saw Healy cross out wide from Tom Farrell’s piercing run and pass and the number 10 convert for 7-3.

The former Australia Under-20 international pinned Oyonnax back with the boot, and after kicking a penalty to the corner, some sharp passing across the line led to winger Kelleher notching an unconverted 11th-minute score in the right corner.

Playing at their adopted home in Switzerland, the reigning Pro D2 champions leaked a couple more penalties and were also turned over as hungry Connacht sought more scores. They began the second quarter with their third try, some patient build-up play under the direction of half-backs Deegan and Caolin Blade seeing flanker McKeon get on the scoresheet.

However, the 37-year-old Tian soon finished off a nicely-constructed move with captain Roimata Hansell-Pune creating the opening, and Oyonnax’s second try – Muller got over in the corner after a bout of pressure from their physical set of forwards – whittled the visitors’ lead down to just four points. It seemed a familiar story for Connacht as a couple of lapses in discipline and defence allowed their opponents to hit back.

A timely penalty from Deegan, following a late surge towards the Oyonnax line, got them back on track before the interval, and they resumed looking the better side once more. A scrum penalty won by Finlay Bealham, just inside the 10-metre line and in front of the posts, was turned into three points by Deegan and a 25-15 scoreline.

After Oyonnax failed to take advantage of numbers out wide, Connacht used Leader’s big right boot to kick successive penalties to touch and from a lineout in the hosts’ 22, Healy was fed and he darted in under the posts to score.

Deegan added the extras and then knocked over subsequent penalties from 35 and 10 metres out, with Ultan Dillane and scrum half Blade both prominent in the build-up.

Now 23 points in arrears, Oyonnax had paid the price for their streak of indiscipline but then laid siege to the Connacht line via a close-in lineout and scrum. The westerners, who used all of their replacements bar Kieran Marmion, held them at bay and won a subsequent scrum penalty.

Searching for more scores, they edged their way deep into Oyonnax territory before some superb handling between Deegan, Quinn Roux, Craig Ronaldson and Griffin released Leader for a deserved 79th-minute try in the left corner.

Giving his post-match reaction, Connacht head coach Keane acknowledged: “That’s been a long time coming, hasn’t it? It was great walking into a noisy, chatty changing room after the game. Obviously, the boys feel relieved about it too.

“We fancy our chances with anybody, but we just have to turn up on the day. Today was a beautiful day from the get-go in terms of the weather and stuff. It is nice to be able to play in that sort of state. It suits us.

“Perhaps we slipped up a little on ‘D’ and leaked a little bit too much. We were going a little high on our tackles, and not hunting at the ruck. It allowed them to get some more momentum. It was in the balance for a while. But we addressed some things at half-time, simplified some things and came out in the second half and did a good job.”