Glasgow 29 Connacht 27
It may have been Connacht’s first defeat in seven games, but it felt like a win. Now playing Ulster away instead of the South African Stormers in the URC quarter-finals, and all but assured of Champions Cup rugby depending on the European winners, Connacht are on track to achieve its seasonal ambitions.
That it was achieved without marquee players Mack Hansen and Bundee Aki was all the more significant. Players such as young Cathal Forde, Shane Jennings and Byron Ralston - his first game in eight weeks - demonstrates the continued development of Andy Friend’s side as his coaching stint comes to a positive end.
“The key thing was to get into the Champions Cup next year,” Friend explained. “Munster did us a favour, but we need to make sure. It makes a hell of a difference (heading to Ulster). It’s good for the fans, so it should be another great occasion.”
It has been a positive turnaround in fortunes since January, but the squad, he says, “always had confidence and belief we could get there.
“Some of the best rugby was played out there against Glasgow - sharp in attack and our set piece continues to give us good ball. I’m happy where we are at, but we have to make sure we put everything together. The message now is, ‘right we are in knock-out rugby, and you win three games and you have a cup’. We know we came close to knocking off Glasgow, which is tough ask, but it didn’t fall our way, but our spirits are still up and we look forward to meeting Ulster in the quarter-final.”
Admittedly Munster delivered Connacht a favour when forcing a draw with the Cell C Sharks, who had been 22-3 up, and this was not Connacht’s most complete performance, but they were well in contention when the home side led 19-17 after an action-packed first half.
Friend’s side, unprepared for the pace Glasgow produced, conceded a try within three minutes when fullback Huw Jones dotted down, but the Connacht scrum produced the necessary response, winning a penalty try to level.
The home side, however, continued to dominate, delivering a second try, but a Jack Carty penalty and superb defensive work from Tom Farrell, Bryon Ralston and Conor Oliver - some 182 tackles were compared with Glasgow’s 55 - kept them in touch. When Finlay Bealham helped Cian Prendergast over the line from a tap penalty, Carty’s conversion put them into a 14-17 lead before a missed tackle put the home side back on the front foot again as Ali Price crossed before the break.
Glasgow changed tactics in the second half, preferring to kick and keep Connacht pinned inside their own half. With an upper hand up front, they produced an unstoppable maul resulting in their top try scorer Jonny Matthews adding his 12th of the season and George Horne adding the extras for a 26-17 lead.
However, Connacht, with a rare incursion into their opponents’ half, knocked over a penalty to reduce the arrears before Horne similarly responded. However, it was replacement Shamus Hurley-Langton who did brilliantly with a superb carry late in the game to score his first try for Connacht and Carty’s subsequent conversion that kept his team’s Champions Cup hopes alive.
GLASGOW: H Jones; C Forbes, S McDowall (capt), S Johnson, J Dobie; T Jordan, A Price; A Dell, F Brown, L Sordoni; S Cummings, R Gray; R Darge, S Vailanu, J Dempsey. Replacements: G Horne for Dobie (11 mins); D Miotti for Jones (37); Z Fagerson for Sordoni (38); J Bhatti for Dell (45); J Matthews for Brown (46); JP de Preez for Gray (52); M Fagerson for Forbes (54). Yellow card: Scott Cummings (24).
CONNACHT: T O’Halloran; J Porch, T Farrell, C Forde, B Ralston; J Carty (capt), C Blade; D Buckley, D Tierney-Martin, F Bealham; O Dowling, N Murray; J Murphy, C Oliver, C Prendergast. Replacements: P Dooley for Buckley, S Illo for Bealham, S Hurley-Langton for Prendergast (all 40 mins); E de Buitlear for Tierney-Martin (50); K Marmion for Blade, D Murray for Dowling (both 54); T Daly for Farrell (59); S Jennings for O’Halloran (69).
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy).
URC quarter-finals: Leinster v Sharks; Ulster v Connacht; Stormers v Bulls; Glasgow v Munster
