Connacht 27
Bristol Bears 10
It has been a long time since Connacht produced a Champions Cup victory over an English side, but that record was appropriately broken at the newly named Dexcom Stadium in Galway.
It was all the more special in that it was their first win in this season’s Champions Cup, and against Pat Lam’s Bristol Bears - a team boasting some 200 international caps in their side.
That Bristol enjoyed 10 entries into the Connacht 22 and came away with only two scores was testament to the home side’s huge defensive effort. By comparison Connacht enjoyed eight entries, and delivered four scores.
“One of the more complete performances of the season, “ said head coach Pete Wilkins. “We lost our way a little bit in the third quarter, but dug our way out of it. Defence was robust and saw lads putting their bodies on the line.
“Really proud of the effort and a good way to finish the pool stages of this campaign.”
The first half was all about the home side, as they took a 17-3 lead at half time, courtesy of three tries.
Despite an early charge by the visitors, strong defence by Connacht kept Bristol on their toes, and on several occasions they coughed up ball.
Within seven minutes Connacht had opened the scoring, David Hawkshaw delivering the perfect pass to right wing Andrew Smith before Shayne Bolton finished off, with Hanrahan failing to convert. And the home side continued to be dominant. Without the ball they put the Bears under pressure, but they were helped when the visitors lost lock Josh Caulfield with a red carded, his foot making contact with Bealham’s head. And although the reward for Connacht was not immediate, within six minutes they had bagged their second try through Jack Aungier.
Dominating possession, the home side took charge of the contest, helped by a red and yellow card to the visitors, and they should have added to their scores, but for a knock-on inside the 22 after a passage of some 15 phases. However by the 33rd minute scrumhalf Caolin Blade added the third - a controlled drive from the pack before Blade’s snipe.
Bristol should have scored before the break with their best attack, both wings stopped just shy of the line, and when pinged for not releasing, thanks to some decent defending, and another line-out steal, Connacht had relieved the pressure, putting paid to a Bears/ try before the break,
Connacht should have added a fourth immediately after the break, the acrobatic skills of Andrew Smith deserved the try, despite the attention of two would-be Bristol tacklers, but after considerable debate the try was ruled out.
Minutes later they missed another opportunity, and it was case of third time lucky when, from a scrum in front of the posts, Bundee Aki delivered the long pass to Smith, and this time there was no stopping him. Fourth try done and dusted for a 24-3 lead.
Bristol, with a reputation for never relenting, looked likely to bridge the gap when right-wing Kalafeti Ravouvou broke through for what looked like a certain score, but the superb duel tackling of Cian Prendergast and David Hawkshaw forced the knock-on with the try ruled out.
Winning a vital penalty on their own line, it relieve the increasing pressure of the Bears in their fight to take control. And the second half was marked by those immersive defensive efforts. Dave Heffernan gave Connacht some breathing space, and the spirit of Connacht was epitomised by Jack Carty whose intercept, chase, and eventual turnover stopped a break-out. With the game almost up, Connacht opted to kick a penalty, and Carty added another three points, rubbing salt into Bristols’ wounds. It was more than enough to seal a well deserved victory over their successful former coach, and mattered little that the second-half replacement referee awarded penalty try to Bristol on the final whistle.
Connacht: T O’Halloran, A Smith, D Hawkshaw, B Aki, S Bolton, J Hanrahan, C Blade (C ), D Buckley, T McElroy, F Bealham, N Murray, J Joyce, C Prendergast, S Hurley-Langton, J Butler.
Replacements: Jack Aungier for Bealham (14-21 mins and half-time ), Jack Carty for Hanrahan (29 mins ), Bealham for Aungier (55 mins ), Dave Heffernan for McElroy, Peter Dooley for Buckley (both 55 mins ), Oisin Dowling for Murray, Oran McNulty for O’Halloran (both 57 mins ), Conor Oliver for Butler (60 mins ), Michael McDonald for Blade (73 mins ).
Bristol Bears: Max Malins; Kalaveti Ravouvou, Virimi Vakatawa, Bernhard Janse van Rensburg, Gabriel Ibitoye; AJ MacGinty, Harry Randall; Jake Woolmore, Gabriel Oghre, Kyle Sinckler, Josh Caulfield, Joe Batley, Steven Luatua, Fitz Harding (capt ), Magnus Bradbury. Replacements _ Max Lahiff for Ravouvou (24-30 mins ) and for Woolmore (48 mins ), Will Capon for Oghre (44 mins ), Kieran Marmion for Randall (52 mins ), James Williams for Vakatawa (53 mins ), Dan Thomas for Harding (60 mins ), Piers O’Conor for Williams (64 mins ), Joe Owen for Thomas (67 mins ), Sam Grahanslaw for Sinckler (74 mins ).
