Kyle Godwin crossed for two tries on his European debut as Connacht kicked off their Challenge Cup campaign with a 22-10 win over Bordeaux-Beglés in testing conditions at the Sportsground.
Jack Carty converted Kyle Godwin’s 13th-minute opener and added a penalty to establish a 10-3 interval lead, with Godwin and Finlay Bealham sandwiching an Afa Amosa effort with two more tries as Connacht prevailed despite finishing the game with 14 men due to injury.
The westerners came through a sticky patch near the hour mark when number 8 Robin Copeland was sin-binned, while a shoulder injury to Conor McKeon forced fellow replacement Colm de Buitléar to play the final 10 minutes of his Connacht debut at scrum half, as the bench had been emptied.
This opening Pool 3 fixture will be most remembered for Godwin’s man-of-the-match performance and the first appearances of Academy duo de Buitléar and Conor Fitzgerald and lock Joe Maksymiw at senior level. The trio all came on in the second half.
Connacht hit the front past the 10-minute mark, an inviting flat pass from Carty sending prop Peter McCabe charging into the visitors’ 22, and although he was hauled down short, quick ruck ball allowed the inrushing Godwin to gather possession and crash over from close range for a seven-pointer.
The hosts began the second quarter with a well-won scrum penalty in slippery underfoot conditions, and then a high tackle on Eoin Griffin allowed Carty to make it 10-0 from the tee. Bordeaux battered away at the silver-shirted defence, getting little change out of it.
The Frenchmen were short with a drop goal attempt, amid some hugely physical exchanges, but they did get off the mark on the stroke of half-time. A loose pass from the otherwise-impressive Quinn Roux had Connacht under pressure to hold onto possession, Thierry Paiva sniffed out a turnover penalty and out-half Lucas Meret lobbed over the straightforward place-kick.
Whatever message was given to the Connacht players at the break appeared to work in spades as they came roaring out of the traps in the second half. Replacement prop Conan O’Donnell seized a turnover to launch them forward again.
The westerners worked a loop play in midfield and although Carty’s pass to full-back Cian Kelleher went to ground, Godwin was on hand to scoop it up and slide over just to the right of the posts. Referee Mike Adamson initially signalled for a knock-on, but consultation with one of his assistants led to the try being awarded, and Carty slotted the conversion for 17-3.
Bordeaux bounced back with their best spell of the match, aided by a 51st-minute yellow card for Copeland who was caught killing the ball close to the Connacht try-line. The Top 14 club’s bench had the desired impact, their front row providing a strong scrum platform to launch replacement back rower Amosa over for his try, past both Carty and Colby Fainga’a.
Meret’s conversion cut the gap to seven points, before 14-man Connacht dug their heels in. A heavier rain shower coincided with the province winning a series of penalties, and the pressure led to a five-metre lineout from which replacement prop Bealham drove over at the end of a well-executed maul.
Bealham’s 66th-minute try – his second of a strong season so far from the Ireland international – effectively sealed the result, although McKeon’s untimely injury, which prompted de Buitléar’s move from the wing to half-back, gave Bordeaux a numerical advantage. Hunting for a late losing bonus point, they went agonisingly close when knocking over a cross-field kick over the try-line.
Reflecting on his first Challenge Cup game in charge of Connacht, head coach Andy Friend said: “We made it a bit harder than it needed to be. Bordeaux turned up and did want to play, sometimes the French sides touring in wet weather don’t want to play. Credit to them for playing, but we needed to be more clinical at certain times in the game.
“Just for too many periods in the first half, I felt like we had to ‘go now’, but we didn’t. I think we’re still trying to find that balance between being a team that wants to play with real ambition and tempo, and making sure we are respecting the opposition, conditions, and keeping the ball in front. Sometimes you don’t get all those decisions right.
“It’s brilliant (to see Colm make his debut). I know he’s a Gaelic speaker and he’s from an area that’s not known for its rugby. He’s got a young brother (hooker Eoin from Connacht’s Under-18 Interprovincial title-winning side) who is pretty handy too, so I’m really pleased for Colm and his family.
“I know they were down here today to support him and he’s got a bright future. It’s important that we keep pushing those indigenous boys if they’re good enough. Colm is not a half-back but he was for the last 10 minutes out there today and that’s a tough job.
“As a young bloke who hasn’t played any half-back this year, he came on and did a reasonable job for us. Young Fitzy (Conor Fitzgerald) put in a couple of good kicks for us and he’s really impressed us in the pre-season.”
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