Aki sees red as Stormers blow away Connacht
Bundee Aki was sent off as Connacht suffered a 38-15 defeat to defending United Rugby Championship winners the Stormers in Stellenbosch.
Ireland international Aki was penalised for a dangerous clearout midway through the second half, extinguishing any hope of a fightback from the Irish province.
Evan Roos touched down early for the hosts and, though they could not add another try before the break, they took a 13-8 lead into half-time thanks to the kicking of Manie Libbok, with Dylan Tierney-Martin going over for the visitors.
The Westerners were 19-8 down when Aki was given his marching orders and quickfire tries from Andre-Hugo Venter and Hacjivah Dayimani put the result beyond doubt, with Jack Aungier crossing for a late consolation.
Marcel Theunissen wrapped up the bonus point after the hooter.
Roos exploited a gap in the Connacht defence and made light work of Mack Hansen’s attempted tackle as his rampaging run sent him over.
Libbok slotted the conversion and added a penalty after Conor Fitzgerald had got Connacht off the mark from the tee.
The Stormers No. 10 then made it 13-3. Marvin Orie was then sin-binned for an accumulation of Stormers offences and Connacht quickly made their hosts pay.
Following a period of sustained pressure on the Stormers five-metre line, Connacht eventually drove TierneyMartin over, although Fitzgerald was wayward with the conversion. Libbok then scored two more penalties. The visitors thought they had closed the gap when Tom Farrell went over after collecting a David Hawkshaw crosskick but the try was chalked off for Aki’s dangerous clearout on Seabelo Senatla in the build-up - an offence that earned Aki the red card.
That dismissal swung momentum decisively in the Stormers’ favour and Venter touched down at the end of a mesmerising passage of play to make it 26-8 with the help of Libbok’s conversion.
Dayimani quickly added another and although Aungier’s try - converted by Hawkshaw - gave Connacht fans something to smile about, it was Theunissen who had the final say at the death, with Libbok adding the extras.
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