CONNACHT’S DREAM OF Challenge Cup glory disappeared in the opening half of this quarter-final at Septeo Stadium when they were severely punished for ill-discipline.
Three yellow tries in the opening half, two of them coming in the opening six minutes, undermined any chance Connacht had of getting on top from the outset.
Montpellier led 26-8 at the break with the French scoring all their points when Connacht had men in the bin.
The good start which Stuart Lancaster targeted came in the form of a third minute penalty from Sam Gilbert after scrumhalf Matthew Devine had put Montpellier under pressure with a good kick.
But Connacht failed to deal with the restart, lock Joe Joyce got pinged and Montpellier went straight to the corner with hooker Dylan Tierney-Martin binned as they struggled to deal with the lineout maul.
Montpellier repeated the dose, again getting a drive off the lineout and this referee Christophe Ridley binned Shamus Hurley-Langton and awarded a penalty try.
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Down seven points and down to 13 men with just six minutes gone, it left Connacht with a mountain to climb.
Bundee Aki took on the lineout throws, nailed the first two but when the third went astray they brought on replacement hooker Matthew Victory for a couple of minutes.
Connacht defended gamely but the pressure finally yielded a maul try for hooker Christopher Toloofua to make it 14-3.
Tierney-Martine marked his return by finishing a fine try in the right corner after Gilbert made ground down the left and from the recycle Devine and Aki’s quick hands led to Chay Mullins putting Tierney-Martin in to cut the gap to 14-8 after 18 minutes.
Neither team scored when it was then 15 against 15 but a yellow card to Shayne Bolton for a late tackle on his opposite number Donovan Taoififenua led to another try from a lineout maul with tighthead Mohamed Haouas getting over.
Connacht didn’t help their cause by losing three lineouts in a row and the cheap handover of possession was punished when Argentine outhalf scored and converted after a chip from Wallaby Tom Banks bounced kindly for him, although on another day the review for offside might have gone Connacht’s way.
Connacht started the second half strongly, building through the phases and while Paul Boyle and Devine were stopped, ball recyle was good and Aki sent Sean Naughton in under the posts, with Gilbert’s conversion making 26-15 after 45 minutes
Connacht needed the next score but it was Montpellier who got it after centre Auguste Cadot skipped through four tacklers to score under the posts, with the conversion pushing the lead out to 33-15.
Connacht got a glimmer of hope when replacement hooker Lyam Akram was binned after 56 minutes but unlike Montpellier, they were unable to punish, turning over possession from the five-metre lineout.
There was no way back from there for Connacht and Scottish scrumhalf Ali Price sniped over to make it 40-15 ten minutes from the end.
Connacht battled away and were rewarded when replacement tighthead Jack Aungier got in beside the posts four minutes from time but Montpellier turned the screw one final time when replacement tighthead Valentin Welsch got in for their seventh try.
Scorers: Montpellier: Tries: C Tolofua, M Haouas, D Miotti, A Cadot, A Price, V Welsch, penalty try. Cons: D Miotti (3 from 4), T Vincent (1 from 2).
Connacht: Tries: D Tierney-Martin, S Naughton, J Aungier. Cons: S Gilbert (2 from 3). Pen: Gilbert.
MONTPELLIER: Tom Banks; Donovan Taofifenua, Auguste Cadot (Arthur Vincent 60), Lennox Anyanwu (Melvyn Rates 68), Jon Echegaray; Domingo Miotti (Thomas Vincent 46), Ali Price; Baptiste Erdocio (Enzo Forletta 55), Christopher Tolofua (Lyam Akrab 46), Mohamed Haouas (Valentin Welsch 55); Florian Verhaeghe (Marco Tauleigne 61), Tyler DuGuid; Yacouba Camara (Lenni Nouchi 49), Alex Becognee, Billy Vunipola (c).
CONNACHT: Sam Gilbert; Shayne Bolton (Matthew Victory 13-15, John Devine 66), Cathal Forde, Bundee Aki, Chay Mullins; Sean Naughton (Jack Carty 49), Matthew Devine (Ben Murphy 55); Billy Bohan (Peter Dooley 49), Dylan Tierney-Martin (Victory 49), Sam Illo (Jack Aungier 49), Joe Joyce (Josh Murphy 55), Darragh Murray, Cian Prendergast (capt), Shamus Hurley-Langton (Sean O’Brien 55), Paul Boyle.
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Connacht's Challenge Cup campaign ends with heavy defeat by Montpellier
Montpellier 45
Connacht 22
CONNACHT’S DREAM OF Challenge Cup glory disappeared in the opening half of this quarter-final at Septeo Stadium when they were severely punished for ill-discipline.
Three yellow tries in the opening half, two of them coming in the opening six minutes, undermined any chance Connacht had of getting on top from the outset.
Montpellier led 26-8 at the break with the French scoring all their points when Connacht had men in the bin.
The good start which Stuart Lancaster targeted came in the form of a third minute penalty from Sam Gilbert after scrumhalf Matthew Devine had put Montpellier under pressure with a good kick.
But Connacht failed to deal with the restart, lock Joe Joyce got pinged and Montpellier went straight to the corner with hooker Dylan Tierney-Martin binned as they struggled to deal with the lineout maul.
Montpellier repeated the dose, again getting a drive off the lineout and this referee Christophe Ridley binned Shamus Hurley-Langton and awarded a penalty try.
Down seven points and down to 13 men with just six minutes gone, it left Connacht with a mountain to climb.
Bundee Aki took on the lineout throws, nailed the first two but when the third went astray they brought on replacement hooker Matthew Victory for a couple of minutes.
Connacht defended gamely but the pressure finally yielded a maul try for hooker Christopher Toloofua to make it 14-3.
Tierney-Martine marked his return by finishing a fine try in the right corner after Gilbert made ground down the left and from the recycle Devine and Aki’s quick hands led to Chay Mullins putting Tierney-Martin in to cut the gap to 14-8 after 18 minutes.
Neither team scored when it was then 15 against 15 but a yellow card to Shayne Bolton for a late tackle on his opposite number Donovan Taoififenua led to another try from a lineout maul with tighthead Mohamed Haouas getting over.
Connacht didn’t help their cause by losing three lineouts in a row and the cheap handover of possession was punished when Argentine outhalf scored and converted after a chip from Wallaby Tom Banks bounced kindly for him, although on another day the review for offside might have gone Connacht’s way.
Connacht started the second half strongly, building through the phases and while Paul Boyle and Devine were stopped, ball recyle was good and Aki sent Sean Naughton in under the posts, with Gilbert’s conversion making 26-15 after 45 minutes
Connacht needed the next score but it was Montpellier who got it after centre Auguste Cadot skipped through four tacklers to score under the posts, with the conversion pushing the lead out to 33-15.
Connacht got a glimmer of hope when replacement hooker Lyam Akram was binned after 56 minutes but unlike Montpellier, they were unable to punish, turning over possession from the five-metre lineout.
There was no way back from there for Connacht and Scottish scrumhalf Ali Price sniped over to make it 40-15 ten minutes from the end.
Connacht battled away and were rewarded when replacement tighthead Jack Aungier got in beside the posts four minutes from time but Montpellier turned the screw one final time when replacement tighthead Valentin Welsch got in for their seventh try.
Scorers: Montpellier: Tries: C Tolofua, M Haouas, D Miotti, A Cadot, A Price, V Welsch, penalty try. Cons: D Miotti (3 from 4), T Vincent (1 from 2).
Connacht: Tries: D Tierney-Martin, S Naughton, J Aungier. Cons: S Gilbert (2 from 3). Pen: Gilbert.
MONTPELLIER: Tom Banks; Donovan Taofifenua, Auguste Cadot (Arthur Vincent 60), Lennox Anyanwu (Melvyn Rates 68), Jon Echegaray; Domingo Miotti (Thomas Vincent 46), Ali Price; Baptiste Erdocio (Enzo Forletta 55), Christopher Tolofua (Lyam Akrab 46), Mohamed Haouas (Valentin Welsch 55); Florian Verhaeghe (Marco Tauleigne 61), Tyler DuGuid; Yacouba Camara (Lenni Nouchi 49), Alex Becognee, Billy Vunipola (c).
CONNACHT: Sam Gilbert; Shayne Bolton (Matthew Victory 13-15, John Devine 66), Cathal Forde, Bundee Aki, Chay Mullins; Sean Naughton (Jack Carty 49), Matthew Devine (Ben Murphy 55); Billy Bohan (Peter Dooley 49), Dylan Tierney-Martin (Victory 49), Sam Illo (Jack Aungier 49), Joe Joyce (Josh Murphy 55), Darragh Murray, Cian Prendergast (capt), Shamus Hurley-Langton (Sean O’Brien 55), Paul Boyle.
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