Connacht lost their grip on a seven-point interval lead as Exeter Chiefs turned on the power in the second half of this exciting European Challenge Cup encounter at the Sportsground.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: CONNACHT 24 EXETER CHIEFS 33
Two well-taken tries by wingers Matt Healy and Danie Poolman sandwiched a maul effort from Willie Faloon as Connacht took a 17-10 lead into half-time.
The home side’s distribution was hugely impressive, with late call-up Jack Carty and Robbie Henshaw to the fore in that regard, although Connacht had some scrum issues to iron out with Exeter winning a penalty try and Henry Slade kicking five points.
Tellingly, the Chiefs seized control in the third quarter with lively man-of-the-match Luke Cowan-Dickie, Dean Mumm and Tom Waldrom all prominent up front.
They upped their physicality and intensity levels and capitalised on a series of Connacht errors, brought on by Exeter’s increased line speed and solid set piece work.
Connacht were rocked by the concession of 10 points between the 43rd and 45th minutes, as another Slade penalty was followed by a converted try by captain Mumm who intercepted a pass from Poolman.
Another points-scoring blitz around the hour mark saw Exeter go 30-17 up, with flanker Dom Armand dotting down from close range and Slade adding the extras along with a fourth successful penalty.
Pat Lam’s men kept battling and the industrious George Naoupu got his hands free to send Healy over for his second try of the afternoon. That Carty-converted score gave Connacht a deserved bonus point but they missed out on a losing one when replacement Darragh Leader was narrowly wide with a 46-metre penalty attempt.
Despite the reversal, the westerners can still go through to the quarter-finals as one of the best runners-up. They must beat La Rochelle away next Saturday – ideally with a bonus point – and hope that other results go their way.
Slade was forced to cover back twice during the opening minutes in sunny Galway, a fine run and one-handed pass from Henshaw allowing Poolman to chip through but the Exeter out-half covered the danger.
Carty, who came in at number 10 for the injured Craig Ronaldson (quad), dummied his way into the 22 in the fifth minute and with the Chiefs defence sucked in, Faloon’s pinpoint looping pass gave the excellent Healy a 20-metre run-in at the right corner. Carty missed the conversion on the near side.
Exeter responded by winning a scrum penalty and Slade increased his influence during a promising spell of continuity. They won penalty after penalty close to the Connacht whitewash, with obvious pressure at a five-metre scrum earning the visitors a penalty try and a 7-5 lead.
Connacht were not long in responding, Henshaw releasing Healy for a trademark burst up the left wing. A subsequent penalty was stuck into the corner and the resulting lineout maul, which was joined by a number of backs, saw Faloon crash over by the left corner flag.
Carty missed the conversion and Slade pushed a kickable penalty wide, but again Exeter dominated at scrum time before Slade kicked the Devon club level (10-10) entering the final five minutes of the first half.
Connacht had other ideas, though, and the crowd roared with delight as Healy exploited some space on the left once more. Quick ball was released into midfield and good hands from Tom McCartney, Henshaw and David McSharry led to Mils Muliaina drawing the final defender and giving Poolman (pictured below) a simple finish in the right corner.
Carty capped it off with a terrific conversion from out wide, moving Lam’s charges seven points clear. However, a positive start to the second half from the Chiefs saw Slade quickly claw back three points.
The tables were well and truly turned when Mumm ran in his intercept effort and after the Chiefs made it 7-0 on turnovers alone, Slade popped over a three-pointer via a scrum penalty.
Mumm’s second row colleague Damian Welch had a gilt-edged try-scoring chance after another intercept and break up the pitch. However, he tripped just 15 metres from the line, with Henshaw and Quinn Roux chasing back for the hosts.
But with tiring Connacht having to defend their line against a powerful Exeter pack, it was not long until Armand found enough space to squeeze over by the posts and the conversion followed from Slade.
With just ten minutes remaining, the impresive Chiefs out-half kicked another accurate penalty, bringing his personal haul to 18 points.
Having struggled for territory throughout the second period, Connacht showed admirable adventure from deep and Ireland centre Henshaw spearheaded a couple of inventive breaks on the right wing.
They did finally break up Exeter’s run of scores when a quick tap penalty set the wheels in motion for a length of the field attack that ended with Naoupu feeding Healy on his inside for another neat finish.
Although the subsequent conversion from Carty cut the gap to nine points with five minutes left, Leader missed his monster 78th minute kick and Exeter kept Connacht out of try-scoring range to seal their quarter-final place as Pool 2 winners.
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