Connacht fall short against Bulls despite return of three Lions
Connacht's Mack Hansen is tackled during the URC clash with the Bulls at Dexcom Stadium on Friday night. Picture: Ben Brady/Inpho
Connacht were unable to crown a special night at Dexcom Stadium with a win when the province fielded three British & Irish Lions on the field for the first time.
Stuart Lancaster’s men came agonisingly close with a spirited comeback but the Bulls made the most of limited possession to carve out their third win of the campaign.
Connacht have only had seven Lions in history and not since Ciaran Fitzgerald and current IRFU president John O’Driscoll togged out together for the province in the 1980s have they had more than two on the pitch at the same time.
Add in three others included in Andy Farrell’s autumn squad this week and Lancaster got his first taste of a full-strength side since joining in the summer.
But even with Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen, and Finlay Bealham starting, Connacht found themselves trailing 12-7 at the break despite enjoying the bulk of the possession in a half where they were reduced to 14 men for most of the second quarter after flanker Josh Murphy was red-carded for 20 minutes after striking Bulls hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels.
Murphy pleaded to referee Mike Adamson that his reaction was due to Wessels grabbing him in the groin, but TMO Hollie Davidson found the evidence inconclusive despite numerous camera angles.
The Bulls struck within a minute for their second try with veteran full-back Willie le Roux breaking down the left to score after exchanging passes with winger Sebastian de Klerk. Keagan Johannes landed the conversion from the left.
It was a big blow to a Connacht side who started solidly and were good value for their 7-0 lead after 10 minutes. Josh Ioane, who had found a good touch inside the 22, pounced after several phases after the Bulls made a mess of the lineout and the Connacht out-half spotted a gap to score before adding the extras.
But Connacht’s propensity for conceding after scoring, which dogged them last year, surfaced again and the Pretoria side hit back in less than two minutes. Wingers Canan Moodie and de Klerk, dangerous throughout, combined down the left and scrum-half Paul de Wet supplied the finish.
Connacht got back on top but Murphy’s red card took the sting out of their attack. Aki went into a few scrums until Sean O’Brien replaced Murphy just before the break.
Aside from le Roux’s score, Connacht defended well and should have reduced the margin nine minutes before the interval with a penalty from 25m but it was pulled across goal.
Johannes extended the lead with a drop goal while he had a penalty advantage three minutes after the restart.
A Hansen kick and chase led to a turnover which Ioane exploited with another good break, feeding Byron Ralston who in turn put scrum-half Caolin Blade in for a try at the end of a week when he was recalled to the Irish squad. Ioane’s excellent conversion from the left cut the gap to 15-14 after 46 minutes.
But the South Africans hit back and quick hands saw de Klerk put de Wet through for his second try after 54 minutes to lead 22-14 before Johannes extended it with a 60th minute penalty.
Replacement full-back Sean Naughton got Connacht back in the game when he chased a Shayne Bolton kick and scored when Johannes lost his footing.
Johannes hit back with a penalty to make it 28-19 but Connacht responded with Naughton landing a penalty from 45m to get them within a score and then a penalty to the right corner after a high hit on Naughton by le Roux led to a succession of drives before Hansen scored in the right corner in the final minute to cut the gap to a point.
Naughton stepped forward with a conversion from the right wing into a tricky wind and he got two gos at it when the Bulls broke early. However, his first effort missed the left post by inches and his second didn't come in enough, sailing a foot outside the right post.
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