Boss hails Connacht comeback

CONNACHT coach Kieran Keane praised his men for not panicking when they fell 19-3 behind after just 25 minutes in France.

And the Kiwi felt man of the match Jack Carty and several others showed the leadership require to make it three wins in a row in the European Challenge Cup.

Connacht looked set for their first defeat of the campaign when they trailed 19-3 after 25 minutes on Saturday.

But Carty took control of proceedings and a 20 point haul from the out-half saw them collect all five points to bolster their claim on a home quarter-final.

“Some really good performances,” said Keane. “We made our few mistakes and we had trouble getting out of our 22 again. But all in all, Jack and a few of the other boys played well.”

But he said they wouldn’t start losing the run of themselves and with just three wins in 10 PRO14 games he knows there is a lot of work to do.

“We won’t get too ahead of ourselves, we will deal with the next game. We will just enjoy the moment. It’s been some fairly tough times recently”

The lead changed hands three times in the first nine minutes of the second-half.

Man of the match Carty edged Connacht back in front with a penalty and then when Brive’s Portuguese hooker Mike Tadger got his second try, Carty broke from deep for a stunning try which included a textbook dummy pass.

Cian Kelleher wrapped up the bonus point after being set up by the impressive Tiernan O’halloran as Connacht sealed a deserved win.

JOB WELL DONE Carty and Muldoon after match