Connacht left so frustrated by Blues

Connacht 24 Cardiff 24

This was a game Connacht should have won, having led early in the second half by 24-14. In total control in the scrum and with territorial dominance, they squandered two opportunities to put the game out of reach, and were left defending their lines at the death as Cardiff grabbed an equalising try on 78 minutes.

Playing against the wind, Connacht led with a Ronaldson penalty, but suffered handling issues and a malfunctioning lineout. Cardiff looked particularly strong in attack, with the hard-working Dan Fish and Rhys Pathcell counterattacking from deep, and it took 20 minutes before they opened their scoring, after Connacht lost an attacking lineout 10 metres out. From the ensuing five-metre scrum, fullback Adam Thomas raced in for the game’s opening try, Patchell adding the conversion. However from a penalty to touch, Kearney set up the drive before Robbie Henshaw did well to reach for the line from the breakdown. Ronaldson converted before Cardiff levelled the game at the break with a penalty.