Four-Try First Half Performance Propels Connacht To Bonus Point Win

James Cannon and Colby Fainga’a’s first tries for Connacht, in a devastating six-minute first half spell, set up the province’s 33-12 bonus point win over the Dragons in the GUINNESS PRO14 at the Sportsground.

Andy Friend’s men actually touched down three time during that purple patch, with winger Darragh Leader also crossing, and their bonus point was secured by hooker Tom McCartney’s 39th-minute effort as they thundered into a 26-0 half-time lead in Galway.

Hallam Amos lifted the Welshmen with a 56th minute try and Taine Basham also scored late on, but Tom Farrell sandwiched in Connacht’s fifth of the night as they rebounded successfully from last week’s disappointing final-play defeat to the Ospreys in Bridgend.

Tonight’s well-earned victory keeps Connacht fifth in the Conference A table, but there is only a three-point gap to second-placed Munster, with Cardiff Blues and the Ospreys sandwiched in between the provinces. The Dragons, coached by former Connacht, Leinster and Ireland hooker Bernard Jackman,are now bottom of Conference B.

The 5,146-strong crowd watched a scoreless first quarter, during which the home side were mostly on the front foot. A Tiernan O’Halloran kick to the corner almost set up Colm de Buitléar for his first senior try just a few days short of his 21st birthday. Handling errors let the Dragons down, and they missed a big opportunity when Harrison Keddie could not connect with Rhodri Williams on his shoulder.

Another gilt-edged chance went a-begging when lively number 8 Basham failed to link with Dafydd Howells with a try looking likely, and Connacht soon made the Dragons pay with a clinical display of finishing. Leader’s kick downfield and Kyle Godwin’s determined chase forced a lineout and lock Cannon plunged over from the subsequent 23rd-minute maul.

Australian out-half David Horwitz, on his PRO14 debut, landed the tricky conversion, and quick hands out to the right released Leader for his score just three minutes later. A clever break from deep by Horwitz and a final pass from Farrell gave Colby Fainga’a the time and space to register a third try on the half-hour mark.

The stunned Dragons leaked a fourth by the interval, TMO Leo Colgan rubber-stamping McCartney’s close range try at the end of a sustained bout of forward pressure. Horwitz supplied his third successful conversion to put 26 points between the sides.

Kieran Marmion, a member of Ireland’s GUINNESS Series squad, had a try ruled out on the resumption, before a series of scrum penalties saw Jackman’s men claw back precious territory. Replacement James Thomas hurtled onto a pass and offloaded out of a tackle on the Connacht 22-metre line to send centre Amos weaving through for a smartly-finished try to the left of the posts.

However, Connacht wrestled back control of the game, with Sean O’Brien pipping his back row colleague Jarrad Butler to the man-of-the-match award. Some slick handling across the back-line was matched by Farrell’s neat footwork as he evaded three defenders for his seven-pointer with 11 minutes remaining.

Galway man Eoin Griffin came on to make his 100th appearance for Connacht and there were PRO14 debuts for Joe Maksymiw and Academy prop Matthew Burke, before Basham’s persistence paid off with a last-minute consolation score from a couple of metres out.