Connacht ease past Dragons
MATCH REPORT: A three-try burst midway through the first half guided Connacht to a comfortable 33-12 win against the Dragons in the PRO14.
Scores from James Cannon, Darragh Leader and Colby Fainga’a in a stretch of six minutes saw the Irish side pull away from their opponents in the first half at the Sportsground.
Hooker Tom McCartney and centre Thomas Farrell added scores for Connacht either side of half time.
It could have been worse for the Welsh side, who scored a consolation tries through Hallam Amos and Taine Basham in the second half, as Connacht had two other scores ruled out following interventions by TMO Leo Colgan.
Dragons No.8 Basham twice broke through the Connacht defensive line in the opening 20 minutes but scrum-half Rhodri Williams and winger Dafydd Howells could not gather the back-rower’s offloads.
They were made to pay as Connacht second row Cannon touched down after the Irish side drove a maul over the tryline after 23 minutes.
The home side added a second try through winger Leader, his first for the club this season. He had a clear run to the corner thanks to sharp hands from fullback Tiernan O’Halloran.
Australian back row Fainga’a finished an 80-metre break on 29 minutes to make it 19-0 to Connacht and notch his first try for the club since joining from Melbourne Rebels this summer.
He ran in from 35 metres after an attack involving O’Halloran, winger Colm de Buitlear and Farrell.
It looked to have got worse for the Dragons with Leader seeming to have added a fourth try three minutes later when Jordan Williams clearing kick was charged down.
The deflection went straight into the Connacht winger’s hands but was ruled out for offside as he was in front of O’Halloran who blocked the kick.
Just before half-time it did get worse for the Welsh side.
Connacht pummelled the defensive line for 14 phases before McCartney touched down to secure the bonus point before half-time, leaving the score 26-0.
Kieran Marmion thought he had extended the Irish team’s lead early in the second half after bursting off the back of a ruck from five metres.
But it was ruled out when Ultan Dillane was deemed to have held Dragons replacement second row James Thomas shirt, leaving him unable to make a tackle.
Winger Amos got on the scoreboard for the Dragons after 56 minutes.
The Wales international, who has 18 caps, was playing at centre and scored his fourth career try against Connacht as he touched down after weaving around the defence.
Connacht centre Farrell added his own try with ten minutes to go, dodging two defenders before touching down. Replacement fly-half Jack Carty added the conversion to make it 33-5.
The Dragons continued to attack late on and Basham was rewarded for his hard work with a score on the last play of the game to make it 33-12 thanks to a conversion from Jason Tovey.
The scorers:
For Connacht:
Tries: Cannon, Leader, Fainga’a, McCartney, Farrell
Cons: Horwitz 3, Carty
For Dragons:
Tries: Amos, Basham
Con: Tovey
The teams:
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Cian Kelleher, 13 Kyle Godwin, 12 Tom Farrell, 11 Colm De Buitléar, 10 David Horwitz, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Jarrad Butler (c), 7 Colby Fainga’a, 6 Sean O’Brien, 5 James Cannon, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Conor Carey, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Shane Delahunt, 17 Matthew Burke, 18 Conán O’Donnell, 19 Joe Maksymiw, 20 James Connolly, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Eoin Griffin
Dragons: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Dafydd Howells, 13 Hallam Amos, 12 Jarryd Sage, 11 Will Talbot-Davies, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Taine Basham, 7 Nic Cudd, 6 Harrison Keddie, 5 Lewis Evans, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 Richard Hibbard (c), 1 Brok Harris
Replacements: 16 Rhys Lawrence, 17 Aaron Jarvis, 18 Dan Suter, 19 James Thomas, 20 Huw Taylor, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Jack Dixon, 23 Adam Warren
Referee: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Jonny Erskine (Ireland), Robert O’Sullivan (Ireland)
Television match official: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
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