Connacht finally find their Euro form to blitz 14-man Bristol
CONNACHT signed off their Champions Cup campaign with a flourish as they put Bristol to the sword at the Sportsground. Heavy defeats against Bordeaux. Saracens and Lyon in the previous rounds meant that Pete Wilkins’ side were playing for mainly pride last night with their qualification hopes for the last-16 effectively over, but they saved the best for last with an impressive four-try triumph on their home turf.
Bristol lost second row Josh Caulfield to an early red card for a stamp on the head of Ireland international tighthead prop
Finlay Bealham and a rampant Connacht took full advantage with former Sevens wing Andrew Smith stealing the show.
The home side came out firing and stunned Bristol with a sublime strike move, with wing Shayne Bolton finishing with ease thanks to some brilliant running lines and offloading from David
Hawkshaw and Smith in the build-up.
Things soon got worse for the visitors when Caulfield got his footing all wrong and stepped on Bealham’s head.
After consultation with the TMO, referee Pierre Brousset reached for his pocket and brandished a red. Pat Lam’s side would be playing the remaining 67 minutes with only 14 men on the pitch.
To make matters worse, Kyle Sinckler, in a week when he missed the cut for England’s Six Nations squad, was sent to the sin-bin seven minutes later as Bristol began to implode in Galway.
When replacement tighthead Jack Aungier — on for Bealham — ploughed his way over the line after more incessant pressure, a big win was on the cards.
The Westerners were on the hunt for a bonus point and when Caolin Blade sniped to the line from close range, Connacht took a deserved 17-3 lead.
And the hosts secure the coveted bonus point as Smith cruised into the corner after yet another flowing Connacht attack while Bristol’s resilience was rewarded when they logged a penalty try with the clock in the red.
CONNACHT: T O’Halloran (O McNulty 57); A Smith, D Hawkshaw, B Aki, S Bolton; JJ Hanrahan (J Carty 18), C Blade (capt) (M McDonald 73); D Buckley (P Dooley 54), T McElroy (D Heffernan 54), F Bealham (J Aungier 42); N Murray (O Dowling 57), J Joyce; C Prendergast, S Hurley-Langton, J Butler (C Oliver 60). SCORERS - Tries: Bolton, Aungier, Smith Blade. Cons: Hanrahan, Carty. Pens: Carty. BRISTOL BEARS: M Malins; K Ravouvou, V Vakatawa (J Williams 53), BJ van Rensburg, G Ibitoye; AJ MacGinty, H Randall (K Marmion 53); J Woolmore (M Lahiff 50), G Oghre (W Capon 40), K Sinckler; J Caulfield, J Batley; S Luatua, F Harding (capt), M Bradbury. Yellow card: Sinckler 20. Red card: Caulfield 13. SCORERS - Try: Penalty. Pen: MacGinty. Referee: P Brousset (France).