A late two-try salvo saw Connacht book their European Challenge Cup quarter-final place in France tonight with a 30-20 bonus point win over La Rochelle.
Kieran Marmion, Eoin McKeon, Niyi Adeolokun and Matt Healy all crossed the whitewash, with out-half Jack Carty kicking 10 points with the boot.
The westerners, lying second in Pool 2, trailed 20-11 at the break but fought their way back through resolute defence and sparks of attacking brilliance from a squad that included 11 players aged between 20 and 24.
They scored three unanswered tries in the second period, including two high quality individual efforts from speedsters Adeolokun (74 minutes) and Healy (76).
Following up on last month’s memorable victory in Bayonne, Pat Lam’s men repeated the trick to qualify for the quarter-finals as one of the best runners-up. They will face top seeds Gloucester at Kingsholm in early April.
In freezing conditions, scrum half Marmion (pictured above) caught the home defence cold with a try inside three minutes. Healy launched the attack by catching his own chip and his inside pass released the supporting Marmion for a 30-metre burst to the line. His half-back partner Carty was unable to convert.
It was just the start that Lam’s charges craved as they looked to bounce back from last Sunday’s home defeat to Exeter Chiefs. La Rochelle, who were bottom of the pool and only playing for pride, hit back with a Jean-Pascal Barraque penalty.
Carty missed a chance to reply but he was back on target with an 18th minute penalty, at which stage Connacht’s regular captain John Muldoon was on the pitch as a replacement for the injured Willie Faloon.
But La Rochelle lifted their game in the second quarter on the back of Barraque’s second three-pointer, building some crucial momentum up front as errors and ill-discipline crept into the visitors’ game.
Connacht tighthead Nathan White was sin-binned for repeated infringements at the breakdown, with the visitors’ defence coming under increasing pressure.
Muldoon had to go off to allow Finlay Bealham come on in the front row. La Rochelle number 8 Albain Meron was denied a try by some dogged defending from the province, but the hosts got the shove on in consecutive scrums to force a penalty try which Barraque converted for 13-8.
Although Carty responded with a penalty, there was still time before the interval for Connacht to leak a second try. The French outfit broke out of their own half and the scramble defence failed to prevent Meron from crashing over. Barraque tagged on the extras for a 20-11 scoreline.
Again, Connacht were quick off the mark once play resumed and White was back on the pitch. The second half was barely five minutes’ old when Tom McCartney’s well-timed short lineout throw paved the way for flanker McKeon (pictured below) to power over by the left corner flag.
The touchline conversion proved too difficult for Carty on this occasion, but it was an important five points for the westerners as they enjoyed a period of dominance with some welcome territory.
The game ebbed and flowed coming up to the hour mark, with both defences standing firm. La Rochelle exerted most of the pressure and it took a crucial turnover, coupled with a Darragh Leader kick downfield, to get Connacht on the move again.
That defensive grit, which included a penalty-winning scrum five metres from their own line, gave Connacht the confidence to push on for another thrilling comeback triumph on French soil.
Having only just replaced captain for the night Mils Muliaina, Adeolokun brilliantly made the most of a gap on the 10-metre line as he turned on the after-burners to beat three defenders and dart in under the posts. Carty converted to make it 23-20.
La Rochelle and the bulk of the 10,068-strong crowd were left stunned straight from the restart when winger Healy (pictured below) showed his finishing prowess once more, twice kicking the ball on and winning the race to touch down in the left corner for Connacht’s fourth try-scoring bonus point in Europe this season.
It was Healy’s fourth try in five Challenge Cup outings and with Carty supplying the conversion, Connacht were out of sight and able to enjoy the spoils of another rewarding French mission.
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