Connacht’s hopes of reaching the Heineken Champions Cup knockout stages for the first time died in Galway after they were outgunned by French champions Toulouse who finished with 13 men.

It’s amazing how quickly something can turn for a player and when Conor Fitzgerald was let go from the Munster academy 18 months ago the last thing on his mind would have been lighting up the home of Toulouse with an awesome display in the Heineken Champions Cup.

Toulouse joint-coach Regis Sonnes said that the manner in which they came from behind to oust Clermont Auvergne 47-44 in a 10-try thriller at Le Stadium sets them up perfectly for a crack at Leinster next weekend.

France 34 Ireland 13: First-half tries from Peter Claffey and James Ryan weren’t enough to secure Ireland’s first win in five Six Nations outings, as the French were too good at Narbonne.