Connacht mark return to Champions Cup with giant killing
Connacht marked their return to Heineken Champions Cup rugby in memorable style with a terrific 23-20 victory over Montpellier at the Sportsground.
Tries from Paul Boyle, stand-in captain Tom McCartney and Caolin Blade, with the rest of the points kicked by Jack Carty and Conor Fitzgerald, saw the westerners prevail in their first European top tier game in three seasons.
Montpellier scored tries through Aaron Cruden and Anthony Bouthier, while captain Benoit Paillaugue added two penalties, but injury-depleted Connacht, who led 13-10 at half-time, were worthy winners in a performance of massive character.
Head coach Andy Friend said in his pre-match press conference that Connacht would try and avoid an arm wrestle against their much larger opponents. But it was Montpellier who showed their running prowess after barely a minute.
Jan Serfontein and Caleb Timu made inroads into Connacht territory with big carries. Eventually, the ball was worked wide to winger Yvan Reilhac and he deftly found Cruden’s trail line and the Kiwi ran in the opening try. Paillaugue converted for the dream start for the visitors.
Reacting well to the concession, Friend’s men pushed on and were rewarded for their attitude when Carty accurately slotted over a penalty. The hosts had some late adjustments before kick-off with skipper Jarrad Butler, Matt Healy and Niyi Adeolokun all withdrawn through injury.
The scoring was of a tit-for-tat nature and Montpellier responded in kind with a Paillaugue three-pointer in the 22nd minute when Connacht went off their feet at the breakdown.
A nightmare start for Connacht! ?
The home captain predicted an 18-0 win before kickoff. It's taken just 70 seconds for that to be undone!
? BT Sport 3 HD pic.twitter.com/DS71quJTEJ
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) November 17, 2019
Connacht continued to grow into the game, with Bundee Aki and Colby Fainga’a prominent, and they began to impose themselves. After phases of probing carries in the Montpellier 22, blindside Boyle managed to crash over in the right corner to close the gap to 10-8. Carty dragged the difficult conversion narrowly wide.
One home try soon became two, as Connacht crossed again on the cusp of half-time. Second row Paul Willemse was yellow carded for taking out Fainga’a in the air at a lineout. To compound the visitors’ misery, from the resulting lineout, McCartney touched down at the tail of a rolling maul for a 13-10 turnaround.
3?? points difference at the break. 3?? points difference at FT.
A valiant battle from both sides, but @connachtrugby come away with the win over @MHR_officiel ?#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/ZerTIx4CxF
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) November 17, 2019
Paillaugue punished a Connacht offside to tie things up early in the second period. The westerners soon regained the lead when scrum-half Blade, showing razor-sharp instincts, sniped around the edge of a ruck and ran in for a try which Carty converted for a 20-13 scoreline.
Bludgeoning his way through contact, Serfontein established field position for the French outfit and full-back Bouthier was the beneficiary as he sped through impressively to score in the 62nd minute, with Paillaugue landing the levelling conversion at 20-20.
However, 22-year-old replacement out-half Fitzgerald coolly kicked Connacht back in front with a sweetly struck penalty. His 68th-minute kick, with the hosts’ steely defence withstanding huge pressure late on, ultimately sealed a stirring first-round success.
Comments on RugbyPass
The game was a quarter final, not a semi final. Barrett will be here for 6 months, he is no one's replacement at 13. That mantle will most likely ultimately go to Jamie Osborne, though Garry Ringrose has at least 4 more years in him. The long term problem position (in the next 3 years) for Leinster is tighthead prop, though there are a couple of prospects at schools level.
21 Go to commentsSo much for all that hype surrounding the ‘revival’ of Aussie rugby. The Blues were without the likes of regular starters Perofeta, Sullivan, Christie etc… This was a capitulation of the highest order by Australia’s finest. Joe Schmidt definitely has his work cut out for him.
2 Go to commentsYes they can ignore Sotutu. Like Akira Ioane plays OK at Super level but gets lost in tests. Too many chances too many failures.
2 Go to commentsA wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
12 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
12 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
5 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
25 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
5 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
37 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
37 Go to comments