Connacht weather elements and Stormers to clinch the win

Andy Friend's side held the Stormers scoreless from the 47th minute even though the South Africans had the strong wind behind them

Connacht's Peter Sullivan and Tom Farrell tackle Ruhan Nel of DHL Stormers at The Sportsground. Pic: INPHO/Evan Treacy

Connacht 19 DHL Stormers 17 

Connacht skipper Jarrad Butler hailed the impact of their bench as they came from ten points down early in the second-half to secure a priceless URC win.

They held the Stormers scoreless from the 47th minute even though the South Africans had the strong wind behind them in a good contest in front of 3,404.

“It’s pretty pleasing to get the win,” said Butler. “Our first-half was pretty disappointing. They definitely got the upper hand against the breeze so to be able to come back in the second-half was great. We got the reserves on and they really added some energy.” 

Andy Friend’s men were forced to dig deep when they fell 17-7 behind after 47 minutes but they held the Stormers scoreless after that and hit back with a couple of tries to win for the second week in a row.

The Stormers’ rolling maul laid the foundation for the opening try after 19 minutes when they marched Connacht back 20 metres and after a few recycles full-back Sergeal Petersen, a late replacement, got over on the right.

Angelo Davids of DHL Stormers is tackled by Connacht's Alex Wootton and Jordan Duggan at The Sportsground in Galway. [ic: Diarmuid Greene/Sportsfile

But Connacht got back on level terms ten minutes from the break and patiently built the phases which forced a couple of tapped penalties and Paul Boyle eventually squeezed over at the butt of the right post, with Conor Fitzgerald converting to lead 7-5.

However, they suffered a massive blow just before the break. Out-half Mani Libbok floated a Garryowen which Connacht didn’t deal with. Petersen raced up to trap it with a boot and the support quickly arrived for Springbok Damian Willemse to get over and lead 10-7 at the break.

Disaster struck seven minutes after the restart for Connacht when a pass from hooker Shane Delahunt to scrum-half Kieran Marmion didn’t go to hand and Libbok raced from inside his own half to score beside the posts before adding the conversion to lead 17-7.

Cian Prendergast had a try scratched on review after a forward pass from Conor Oliver but Connacht got back in the game six minutes later with Petersen in the bin for a deliberate knock-on and Fitzgerald broke through before setting up Tom Daly for a converted try under the posts to cut the gap to 17-14 after 59 minutes.

Stormers centre Ruhan Nel was fortunate to escape with just a yellow card for a shoulder to head tackle on Fitzgerald who required a HIA but Connacht made the extra man count. Sullivan, back on for Fitzgerald, scored in the left corner after Daly and Alex Wootton created the overlap to edge 19-17 in front eight minutes from time.

They never looked like losing the lead from there to end, much to the joy of the crowd.

Connacht: J Porch; P Sullivan (T Farrell 66), S Arnold, T Daly, A Wootton; C Fitzgerald (Sullivan 68 HIA), K Marmion (C Blade 57); D Buckley (J Duggan 50), S Delahunt (J Murphy 72), T Tuimauga (J Aungier 41); N Murray (O Dowling 50), L Fifita; C Prendergast (A Papali’i 58), J Butler (C Oliver 50), P Boyle.

DHL Stormers: S Petersen (C Smit 67); A Davids, R Nel, D Willemse, S Senatla, M Libbok, H Jantjies (P de Wet 68), S Kitshoff (A Vermaak 67), S Ntubeni (AH Venter 79), B Harris (N Fouche 67), A Smith (D Meihuizen 41), M Orie, D Fourie (J Pokomela 41), E van Rhyn (H Dayimani 66), E Roos.

Referee: B Blain (Scotland).