Ospreys bag six as Connacht finish with a whimper

CONNACHT’S season flopped to a deeply disappointing end as they shipped six tries to the Ospreys in Swansea last evening.

A fifth straight loss saw Pat Lam’s first season in charge peter out into a tenth-place finish despite tries from Darragh Leader, Denis Buckley and Conor Gilsenan.

Miah Nikora opened the scoring with a penalty but Jeff Hassler grabbed the game’s first try when he raced home from halfway. Connacht hit back when Nikora’s cross-kick was caught by Danie Poolman, who popped inside, allowing Leader to dart over.

But the Ospreys upped the ante before the break as Ashley Beck and Alun-Wyn Jones went over in quick succession.

Tighthead Buckley gave Connacht hope on the stroke of half time when he peeled off a driving maul but the Ospreys had the bonus point in the bag through Beck four minutes after the restart.

Slick hands from Eoin McKeon saw flanker Gilsenan cross out wide after 63 minutes but Nicky Smith had already claimed a fifth try for the home side and then Dan Baker touched down to round off Connacht’s misery.