Connacht second half fight back not enough against dominant Bulls 

DISAPPOINTING DEFEAT: Niall Murray, right, and Shamus Hurley-Langton of Connacht react to loss to Bulls. Picture: Tyler Miller/Sportsfile

URC: Connacht 14 Bulls 28

Connacht fell to a disappointing loss in Galway when they paid the price for poor discipline against a Bulls side who bossed matters.

Both sides finished with 14 men it was Connacht who played almost three-quarters of the game down a man and the Bulls were out of sight by the time they too lost a man after 56 minutes.

The Bulls got on top from the start on a wet evening in Galway and they dominated the opening quarter with 85% possession as Connacht just could not get their hands on the ball.

Connacht managed to limit the damage to 7-0 in that period but they were struggling to stay in the game, not helped by indiscipline which gifted the Bulls ample penalty opportunities.

The South Africans went to touch with those penalties but Connacht defended well after conceding the opening try after five minutes when scrum-half Embrose Papier put Sebastian de Klerk over in the left corner.

Johan Goosen judged the conversion to perfection, curling it over from the left touchline to make it 7-0.

The Bulls should have increased their lead but lacked a clinical edge close to the line, with Papier knocking on after the home defence was prised over.

Connacht suffered a major blow after 22 minutes when No.8 Sean Jansen was red-carded for an elbow to the head of Bulls captain Marcel Coetzee as he moved in to tackle the South African.

Connacht took off Argentine winger Santaigo Cordero and brought back rowed Paul Boyle into action as they tried to minimise the damage of going down to 14 men.

The Bulls continued to blow good opportunities with David Kriel falling to find Canan Moodie with a clear run to the line.

Connacht finally managed to lift the siege and a good break from Piers O’Conor had David Hawkshaw, on while Cathal Forde underwent a HIA, in support but the Bulls cover got back to smother scrum-half Ben Murphy.

They turned over the ball and countered from deep and Connacht were probably grateful that referee Mike Adamson did not seek a review when Shayne Bolton got across and tackled Moodie just after he grubbered ahead.

But the reprieve was brief for Connacht and the Bulls built a 14-0 interval lead when a good turnover from Cameron Hanekom in midfield ended with scrum-half Papier scoring under the posts after he chased and collected Moodie’s neat chip. Goosen added the easy conversion at the end of a half where they had 73% territory.

Connacht needed a good start to the second-half but it was the Bulls who extended their lead when Kriel; broke down the left, got away from O’Conor to get past full-back Shane Jennings to score in the corner. Goosen, playing his first game of the campaign, added another brilliant conversion to make it 21-0.

It got worse for Connacht after 55 minutes when Moodie picked off a pass from Jack Carty and sprinted over 60 metres to score and secure the bonus point, with Goosen again converting.

The Bulls were reduced to 14 men as well three minutes later when No.8 Celimpilo ka Gumede was guilty of hands to the eye area after he retaliated when David Hawkshaw held him back at the side of ruck but Connacht failed to build anything from the penalty to the right corner.

But they finally got off the mark when Jennings and replacement tighthead Sam Illo made ground inside the 22 and Hawkshaw finished beside the posts, with Forde converting to make it 28-7.

Dylan Tierney-Martin, Jennings and O’Conor combined to send replacement scrum-half Caolin Blade away for a try down the left which Forde converted to cut the gap to 14 with five minutes left but they never looked like salvaging a bonus point.

CONNACHT: S Jennings; S Bolton, P O’Conor, C Forde (D Hawkshaw 30-40), S Cordero (P Boyle 24); J Carty (Hawkshaw 56), B Murphy (C Blade 52); D Buckley (J Duggan 49), D Heffernan (D Tierney-Martin 49), J Aungier (S Illo 49); J Joyce (c) (D Murray 53), N Murray; J Murphy, C Oliver, S Jansen.

BULLS: W le Roux; C Moodie, D Kriel, H Vorster (S Gans 62), S de Klerk (A Dyanti 62); J Goosen, E Papier (K Johannes 73); A Tshakweni (G Steenekamp, half-time) A van der Merwe (J Grobbelaar 52), F Klopper (M Smith 56); R Vermaak, JF van Heerden; M Coetzee (c) (C Hanekom 30), C Wiese, C ka Gumede.

Referee: M Adamson (Scotland).