CONNACHT SKIPPER BUNDEE Aki did his best to try to convince the French referee that Ross Moriarty’s final pass to Iestyn Hopkins for the Ospryes winning try was forward but Msr Urruzmendi was having none of it.
It meant that on a filthy night in Bridgend Aki and co had gone from first half zeros, scoring three tries and leading 21-5 to second half zeros as they failed to add a point and saw the Welsh region come storming back into the contest.
The wind and the rain played a huge part in their demise, as did the 75th minute sin-binning of loose head prop Denis Buckley that led to Connacht playing with 13 men for 10 vital minutes.
Connacht had first use of the strong wind and they certainly made the most of it as they almost totally dominated the first half. They were almost perfect for the first 30 minutes as they sped into a 21-0 lead.
At times it looked so easy it appeared to be a training game. The Ospreys were their own worst enemies as they leaked penalties and made a host of other unforced errors and they simply couldn’t get anything going.
The first home penalty came for offside with the game barely a minute old and then Finlay Bealham picked up the first of four first half scrum penalties. They ultimately led to home loose head prop Garyn Phillips picking up his side’s second yellow card of the half.
The first went to flanker James Ratti in the 17th minute and proved to be the gateway for two Connacht tries before he returned.
The visitors’ got the scoreboard rolling in the 11th minute after they had won their second scrum penalty. Jack Carty kicked into the corner and after going through the phases Bealham came up with the try.
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That was to be his final contribution as he left with an injury. It didn’t create a problem, though, because his replacement Jack Aungier soon came up with another scrum penalty.
Things simply went from bad to worse for the Ospreys as they then lost Ratti to the sin-bin for a deliberate knock on in his 22 and from the tap penalty move started by Dave Heffernan the Connacht No 8 Sean Jansen powered over. Sean Naughton once again added the extras.
Five minutes later after a Carty 50-22 had once again given Connacht an excellent launch pad, Aungier ploughed over and Naughton’s third conversion made it 21-0 in 23 minutes.
The bonus-point could, and possibly should, have been secured before the break, but the yellow card for Phillips meant the Osprey shad to bring on their experienced Welsh international Gareth Thomas.
He completed changed the pictures at scrum time and helped to win a vital penalty in that phase in front of his own posts.
Connacht got the ball to the edge on the overlap in the 32nd minute to give Shane Jennings the chance to stretch his legs, but his inside pass to Ben Murphy went to ground with the try line begging.
That was a big chance missed and in the second minute of added time at the end of the first half the Ospreys finally got their act together and got off the mark with a driving line-out try for flanker Harri Deaves.
That made it 21-5 at the break and the Ospreys looked a different side in the second half. After a couple of clean breaks they managed to get centre Phil Cokanasiga over at the posts for a try that Edwards converted to cut the gap to nine points.
That was reduced to two points in the 67th minute moments after Denis Buckley was sent to the sin bin for two collapsed scrums five metres out from the Connacht line. That meant passive scrums as Connacht had run out of front row replacements and they had to lose an extra player.
From the scrum Ross Moriarty picked up and went blind and Ryan Smith powered over. Edwards added the extras and then a 75th minute try from Hopkins finally ended the comeback with his corner effort as Connacht’s luck ran out.
Ospreys scorers:
Tries: H Deaves, P Cokanasiga, R Smith, I Hopkins
Conversions: D Edwards 2.
Connacht scorers:
Tries: F Bealham, S CJansen, J Augnier
Conversions: S Naughton 3
Ospreys: Jack Walsh (co-captain); Dan Kasende (Keelan Giles 53), Evardi Boshoff, Phil Cokanasiga, Iestyn Hopkins; Dan Edwards, Reuben Morgan-Williams; Garyn Phillips (Gareth Thomas 38, Sam Parry (co-captain, Lewis Lloyd 67), Tom Botha (Rhys Henry 50), Rhys Davies, Ryan Smith (Huw Sutton 67), James Ratti, Harri Deaves (Gwilym Evans 68), Ross Moriarty (Gareth Thomas 29-38)
Connacht: Seán Naughton; Shane Jennings (Harry West 40), Sam Gilbert (Sean Walsh 72), Bundee Aki (captain), Finn Treacy; Jack Carty, Ben Murphy (Colm Riley 69); Denis Buckley (Jordan Duggan 48), Dave Heffernan (Eoin de Buitléar 48), Finlay Bealham (Jack Augnier 11), Joe Joyce (Darragh Murray 48), David O’Connor, Josh Murphy (Paul Boyle 48), Seán O’Brien, Sean Jansen
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Connacht suffer second-half collapse as Ospreys rally to victory
Ospreys 24
Connacht 21
Rob Cole reports from Dunraven Brewery Field
CONNACHT SKIPPER BUNDEE Aki did his best to try to convince the French referee that Ross Moriarty’s final pass to Iestyn Hopkins for the Ospryes winning try was forward but Msr Urruzmendi was having none of it.
It meant that on a filthy night in Bridgend Aki and co had gone from first half zeros, scoring three tries and leading 21-5 to second half zeros as they failed to add a point and saw the Welsh region come storming back into the contest.
The wind and the rain played a huge part in their demise, as did the 75th minute sin-binning of loose head prop Denis Buckley that led to Connacht playing with 13 men for 10 vital minutes.
Connacht had first use of the strong wind and they certainly made the most of it as they almost totally dominated the first half. They were almost perfect for the first 30 minutes as they sped into a 21-0 lead.
At times it looked so easy it appeared to be a training game. The Ospreys were their own worst enemies as they leaked penalties and made a host of other unforced errors and they simply couldn’t get anything going.
The first home penalty came for offside with the game barely a minute old and then Finlay Bealham picked up the first of four first half scrum penalties. They ultimately led to home loose head prop Garyn Phillips picking up his side’s second yellow card of the half.
The first went to flanker James Ratti in the 17th minute and proved to be the gateway for two Connacht tries before he returned.
The visitors’ got the scoreboard rolling in the 11th minute after they had won their second scrum penalty. Jack Carty kicked into the corner and after going through the phases Bealham came up with the try.
That was to be his final contribution as he left with an injury. It didn’t create a problem, though, because his replacement Jack Aungier soon came up with another scrum penalty.
Things simply went from bad to worse for the Ospreys as they then lost Ratti to the sin-bin for a deliberate knock on in his 22 and from the tap penalty move started by Dave Heffernan the Connacht No 8 Sean Jansen powered over. Sean Naughton once again added the extras.
Five minutes later after a Carty 50-22 had once again given Connacht an excellent launch pad, Aungier ploughed over and Naughton’s third conversion made it 21-0 in 23 minutes.
The bonus-point could, and possibly should, have been secured before the break, but the yellow card for Phillips meant the Osprey shad to bring on their experienced Welsh international Gareth Thomas.
He completed changed the pictures at scrum time and helped to win a vital penalty in that phase in front of his own posts.
Connacht got the ball to the edge on the overlap in the 32nd minute to give Shane Jennings the chance to stretch his legs, but his inside pass to Ben Murphy went to ground with the try line begging.
That was a big chance missed and in the second minute of added time at the end of the first half the Ospreys finally got their act together and got off the mark with a driving line-out try for flanker Harri Deaves.
That made it 21-5 at the break and the Ospreys looked a different side in the second half. After a couple of clean breaks they managed to get centre Phil Cokanasiga over at the posts for a try that Edwards converted to cut the gap to nine points.
That was reduced to two points in the 67th minute moments after Denis Buckley was sent to the sin bin for two collapsed scrums five metres out from the Connacht line. That meant passive scrums as Connacht had run out of front row replacements and they had to lose an extra player.
From the scrum Ross Moriarty picked up and went blind and Ryan Smith powered over. Edwards added the extras and then a 75th minute try from Hopkins finally ended the comeback with his corner effort as Connacht’s luck ran out.
Ospreys scorers:
Tries: H Deaves, P Cokanasiga, R Smith, I Hopkins
Conversions: D Edwards 2.
Connacht scorers:
Tries: F Bealham, S CJansen, J Augnier
Conversions: S Naughton 3
Ospreys: Jack Walsh (co-captain); Dan Kasende (Keelan Giles 53), Evardi Boshoff, Phil Cokanasiga, Iestyn Hopkins; Dan Edwards, Reuben Morgan-Williams; Garyn Phillips (Gareth Thomas 38, Sam Parry (co-captain, Lewis Lloyd 67), Tom Botha (Rhys Henry 50), Rhys Davies, Ryan Smith (Huw Sutton 67), James Ratti, Harri Deaves (Gwilym Evans 68), Ross Moriarty (Gareth Thomas 29-38)
Connacht: Seán Naughton; Shane Jennings (Harry West 40), Sam Gilbert (Sean Walsh 72), Bundee Aki (captain), Finn Treacy; Jack Carty, Ben Murphy (Colm Riley 69); Denis Buckley (Jordan Duggan 48), Dave Heffernan (Eoin de Buitléar 48), Finlay Bealham (Jack Augnier 11), Joe Joyce (Darragh Murray 48), David O’Connor, Josh Murphy (Paul Boyle 48), Seán O’Brien, Sean Jansen
Referee: Evan Urruzmendi (France)
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Challenge Cup Connacht narrow margins Ospreys Rugby