Late Drama In Galway As Connacht’s Comeback Falls Just Short

Connacht fell just short of a late comeback victory at Dexcom Stadium, instead pocketing two bonus points in an agonising 28-27 defeat to the Vodacom Bulls.

Despite the Bulls being the more clinical team in attack, and having a superior scrum, replacement Sean Naughton inspired a rousing fightback from 11 points down.

The Academy youngster scored a try and a long-range penalty, but could not convert Mack Hansen’s 78th-minute try from out wide as the South Africans hung on.

Hansen has emerged as an injury concern ahead of the Ireland squad’s departure for Chicago next week. On his seasonal debut, he sustained a leg injury in the act of scoring and had to be replaced.

The Bulls led this keenly-contested BKT United Rugby Championship clash 12-7 at half-time, with Josh Ioane’s early effort cancelled out by tries from Paul de Wet and Willie le Roux.

Stuart Lancaster’s men had to regroup following Josh Murphy’s 20-minute red card. Caolin Blade burst over – soon after a Keagan Johannes drop goal – to close the gap to 15-14.

Crucially, de Wet was able to double his try tally, and Johannes finished with 13 points from the tee, handing the hosts their second successive loss despite that late rally.

Connacht were quick to get their three returning British & Irish Lions players involved, as Hansen, who caught a high ball near halfway, Finlay Bealham, and Bundee Aki all made carries inside the opening 70 seconds.

The Bulls pressurised the Connacht lineout after de Klerk had kicked out on the full. However, the province soon made the possession and territory count when Ioane found touch inside the opposition 22.

A loose Bulls lineout was gobbled up at the rear by Dave Heffernan, who was backed up by Murphy’s incisive carry. The forwards chipped away from a tap penaty, before Ioane darted over in the ninth minute.

The New Zealander’s conversion kept Connacht in front as the Bulls engineered a swift response. Canan Moodie invited Sebastian de Klerk through a gap, and he hoovered up the metres before sending de Wet over from 15 metres out.

With their lead soon erased, the home side played almost the entire second quarter without Murphy, who was dismissed for ‘striking to the head’ of Jan-Hendrik Wessels in an off-the-ball incident at a ruck.

The Connacht flanker had pleaded his case that he had reacted to being ‘grabbed in the groin area’. With the TMO review failing to find evidence of Murphy’s allegation, referee Mike Adamson produced his red card.

De Klerk’s pace out wide cut Connacht open again in the 19th minute, his return pass putting the influential le Roux over in the left corner. Johannes nailed the difficult conversion for a five-point advantage.

14-man Connacht marched forward thanks to captain Cian Prendergast’s hard work to disrupt the visitors’ maul, and then a clever kick from Blade to gain field position. Unfortunately Ioane was wide with a subsequent penalty attempt.

Restored to their full complement with Sean O’Brien now on, Lancaster’s charges let their discipline slip early on the resumption. They leaked a couple of penalties, and the advantage for the latter allowed Johannes to dink over his drop goal.

Just minutes later, Connacht countered to very good effect following a Heffernan turnover. Ioane carried hard to the line, sucking in a couple of defenders to release Byron Ralston on his inside, and he provided the final pass to give Blade a 25-metre run-in.

The Ireland squad member was tackled high by de Klerk, and also had Moodie chasing him down, but he absorbed the challenges and made sure he got a clean grounding. Ioane crisply tagged on the extras to make it a one-point game.

The Bulls reached the hour mark with a 22-14 buffer, though, as they remained especially dangerous on transition. Having linked with David Kriel, player-of-the-match de Klerk supplied his third try assist when giving de Wet a clear run to the whitewash.

That seven-pointer briefly quietened the vocal home crowd, until Ralston’s kick had de Klerk covering back at his own try-line, under pressure from Shayne Bolton.

The Bulls barged back downfield, aided by their beefy bench, and Johannes punished a Heffernan infringement with three more points. They also won a scrum against the head to add to the three earlier scrum penalties they had earned.

It looked a tall order for Connacht, but Naughton, who came on at full-back with Hansen moving to the right wing, raised their hopes in the 67th minute.

Returning from a HIA, Prendergast neatly gave the strong-running Bolton the chance to exploit the space in front of him, resulting in a kick chase from the hosts’ half.

The bobbling ball evaded Johannes, as Bolton came up hard inside the visitors’ 22, and Naughton deftly dribbled it through to get the touchdown in the left corner. Ioane missed the conversion on the near side, leaving it 25-19.

Still, with replacement Joe Joyce guilty of jumping across at a 70th-minute lineout, Johannes had the distance and accuracy to land an important three-pointer.

Naughton was just as impressive from long range with little over five minutes remaining, giving Connacht their losing bonus point. They wanted more and came with a big late push, aided by Johannes’ restart kick which went dead.

A sharp first-phase attack from the scrum, initiated by replacement Matthew Devine and Ioane, had Naughton suddenly threatening on the right wing. Le Roux’s shoulder was too high in the tackle, a TMO consultation resulting in a penalty.

The province’s maul was stopped five metres short, but the pack’s hard graft, through a slew of carries, eventually paid off. They had a penalty advantage when Ralston got the ball wide for Hansen to expertly finish in the right corner.

The Ireland international injured himself in the process, sandwiched by tackles from Stravino Jacobs and Embrose Papier. The Galway ground fell silent for Naughton’s all-important conversion which he curled narrowly wide.

Referee Adamson gave the 20-year-old a second attempt as the Bulls had made an early charge. This time he missed it on the near right-hand side, although there was still just enough time for Johannes to restart.

Connacht played right to the bitter end, hoping to score as they did during the final play against Cardiff last Saturday. A pacy move from deep saw them gain ground, yet Bolton’s offload was knocked on by Prendergast before they could get into Bulls territory.