BUTLER: WE MADE IT HARD ON OURSELVES YET AGAIN

Stomrmers 38 Connacht 15 JOHN FALLON CONNACHT skipper Jarrad Butler admitted discipline let them down for the second week in a row after a red card for Bundee Aki killed off any hope of a comeback against the URC champions in Stellenbosch. Aki is now facing a suspension for his dismissal and it could be increased after he continued to argue with Italian referee Gianluca Gnecchi and with the fourth official when he eventually left the field. Butler (right) said: “We didn’t make it easy on ourselves, giving away a lot of loose balls, some scrappy penalties it just left Stormers applying pressure where we could probably have exited a lot better.

“We will have to look back and re-evaluate because that is two weeks now where we have kind of let discipline put us under a lot of under pressure.”

Aki was dismissed for a reckless head tackle after coming on as a replacement, paving the way for champions the Stormers to push on and claim a bonus point win.

Connacht were trailing 19-8 when

Tom Farrell raced in to score under the posts but the move after 55 minutes was whistled back for Aki’s tackle, when the Irish centre’s shoulder crashed into the head of Seabelo Senatla at full tilt when the Stormers winger was crouched over John Porch trying to poach the ball.

Aki is now facing a suspension and he did not help his cause by not leaving the field straight away when ordered to. SCORERS: STORMERS: TRIES: E Roos, A Venter, H Dayimani, M Theunissen. Cons: M Libbok (3). Pens: Libbok (4). CONNACHT: TRIES: D Tierney-martin, J Aungier. Con: D Hawkshaw. Pen: C Fitzgerald. REFEREE: G Gnecchi (Italy).