Connacht 31
Scarlets 14
Connacht delivered a much-needed win over the Scarlets to give them further momentum in their quest for a top eight place in this season’s BKT URC campaign.
The win - their fifth victory of the season - was delivered at Dexcom Stadium where Connacht have now produced three timely victories in succession in their bid to make the top eight.
Connacht led from start to finish, and in the end it was a comfortable win, having held a 12 - 0 lead the break, courtesy of two tries by Sean Jansen.
Controlling the opening quarter, Connacht reaped the rewards of a series of penalties before Jansen delivered the opening try. Sean Naughton, an early replacement for fullback Sam Gilbert, added the extras. By the 20th minute Connacht looked to have struck a second try through John Devine, but it was chalked off after the TMO ruled an earlier obstruction.
It gave the Scarlets a lift as they grabbed the momentum, but despite a series of penalties, they were unable to make the breakthrough as Connacht denied scrumhalf Gareth Davies and forced a knock-on.
Connacht struck again before the break when capitalising on a penalty to touch, and eventually No 8 Sean Jansen delivered again to give Connacht the lead before the break.
Connacht raised their intensity immediately in the second half, and within minutes had added a third try. Outhalf Josh Ioane played a key role with some quick passing before Jack Aungier finished at the posts with Connacht leading 19-0.
However, the visitors immediately came to life, and within a matter of minutes the game changed when Joe Roberts capitalised on a missed tackle to score, and the second by fullback Ioan Jones after a similar mix-up in the Connacht’s midfield defence, reducikng the deficit to 19-14.
However, within minutes Connacht added another try - a superb midfield break created the space for Fiachna Barrett, who made the line to deliver the fourth try and bonus point.
Connacht, with all the momentum, nearly added another through captain Paul Boyle, who was tackled shy of the line, while another was chalked off for no clear grounding. However, when Eoin de Buitlear finished off a sustained period when the home side was camped on their opponents’ line, and Naughton added the extras, there was no way back for the Welsh outfit.
Scarlets were denied a late try for a forward pass, but it made no difference to Connacht’s bonus-winning display that keeps them on track for a potential top-eight spot.
Connacht Rugby: S Gilbert, S Jennings, J Devine, C Forde, C Mullins, J Ioane, C Reilly; D Buckley, D Tierney-Martin, J Aungier, D O’Connor, J Joyce, J Murphy, P Boyle (C ), S Jansen
Replacements: S Naughton for Gilbert (10m ), E de Buitlear for Tierney-Martin (31m ), J Duggan for Dooley (54m ), F Barrett for Aungier (54 ), N Murray for O’Connor(62 ), S O’Brien for Jansen (62 ) B Miup, N Murray, S O’Brien, B Murphy for Really (68 ) and McCormack for Forde.
Scarlets: I Jones, J Davies, J Roberts, J Williams, M Page, C Leggatt-Jones, G Davies; K Mathias, M van der Merwe, H Thomas, S Lousi, J Ball, M Douglas, J Taylor, F Anderson (C )
Replacements: J Price for Ball (20-31m ), H O’Connor for H Thomas (48m ) and A Hughes for Davies (48m ), S O’Connor for Mathias (61-70m ), H Thomas for van Der Merwe (65 ), JD Davis for Lousi (65 ), and T Lewis for Jones (65m ).
Referee: Ru Campbell (SRU )
