Connacht find way to rock Reds
THOMAS FARRELL’S late try stunned Munster at the Sportsground last night as Connacht triumphed in pulsating Pro14 contest. Tiernan O’Halloran (with Farrell, left) also touched down in response to a Simon Zebo try in a riproarding derby that saw Munster’s Andrew Conway sent off for a high tackle.
SIMON ZEBO has admitted that being excluded from the Irish squad is hard to take but he knew that could happen when he told Joe Schmidt that he was moving abroad.
Speaking after Munster’s 2016 loss to Connacht at the Sportsground, he insisted he could not say which club he is joining at this stage, although he did confirm he was going to France. But he vowed to finish his time with Munster on a high.
‘I’ll stick with it now and give it my best shot. I’m actually quite stubborn with what I decide to do, if I decide to do it I’ll definitely go ahead and do it. It’s always been a dream of mine, I’m going to pursue a life in France and hopefully enjoy that, give it everything I have. But first there is a massive season that I’m very excited about. I know where I’ll probably end up but until something is announced I can’t really comment on it.’
Zebo said he spoke to Schmidt about his proposed move and knew that he would probably not be included by Ireland.
‘I spoke to Joe and he explained his reasons around it and obviously you know that could potentially happen, but it’s never easy when you are not involved in a squad.
‘If I wasn’t able to compete or if I didn’t think I was good enough then it would just go over my head, but it’s a level that I should be at. I’ve proven I should be at it, so that’s why it’s disappointing. But I’ll back the boys they’ll go at it hammer and tongs.’
It was Tom Farrell’s try 13 minutes from the end that gave Connacht a memorable victory over their 14-man opponents.
The visitors’ Andrew Conway was sent off ffor a late tackle on Jack Carty in the 62nd minute, and despite a JJ Hanrahan penalty that gave them the lead, Farrell found a hole in the visitors’ defensive line to score the winner for the home side.
Victory sees Connacht climb two places in the standings over night, and is just their second Pro14 victory of the season.
Aki showed he was up for the battle with a brilliant rip on CJ Stander in the first minute, but the first real highlight featured Zebo who delivered the first try powering through the Connacht defensive line to score after four minutes.
Keatley’s conversion was on the mark for a 7-0 lead, and he was next to impact the scoreboard when his 17th minute penalty stretched the Munster lead out to 10.
Outstanding flanker Jarrad Butler set Connacht on their way with a brilliant break down the left eventually finding O’Halloran, who ran in behind the posts for a converted try.
Nine minutes from half-time, John Muldoon was penalised for failing to release the tackled player and Keatley gave Munster a 13-7 lead. However, Carty cut that lead in half when Finlay Bealham forced a penalty just before th break.
The introduction of JJ Hanrahan came after 47 minutes, but his first touch was a knock on, and the scrum that followed led directly to a penalty for Connacht, which Carty kicked to level to scores.
A Hanrahan penalty seemed to have edged the game in Munster’s favour 13 minutes from time, but two minutes later Farrell struck.