URC, round three: Cardiff 14 Connacht 8
Connacht head coach Stuart Lancaster took solace in a losing bonus point after his side shipped a 14-8 loss away to Cardiff following a “disappointing” performance at Arms Park.
It ended Connacht’s recent winning streak against the Welsh outfit, marking their first defeat there since 2021. However, Lancaster remained focus on the long game ahead: “The reality is no team goes unbeaten, and you have to get as many points as you can to get the best chance at the end of the season in the play-offs.”
With Connacht’s second round URC game at home to Scarlets postponed due to Storm Amy, the former Leinster and England coach stuck with that selection, and
But for a try-saving tackle by Cardiff outhalf Calum Sheedy on Finn Tracey 10 minutes from the final whistle, the result could have been different. However, Lancaster wasn’t interested in what might have been.
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“Obviously, I would have been happier (with a win), but I am very much a performance-focused coach. You’ve got to have your detail right in the aerial game, the breakdown, and set piece, and we were not good enough in those areas.
“Deep down I was disappointed with the quality of the performance,” he added.
Connacht pounded the line at the death and came close when Matt Devine’s effort was deemed short. However, from the resulting scrum and 12 phases of play, eventually replacement David O’Connor crashed over in the corner to earn a bonus point.
“Credit to Cardiff, we knew it was going to be hard. They dug in and showed good resilience, but equally when our lads conceded a try, they could have shrugged their shoulders and said, ‘it’s a difficult day’ and not come away with anything.
“So, these are the points you need to take. No team goes unbeaten in the league, so we got the points, and now it’s a short turnaround with the Bulls coming on Friday night, which is huge again for us.”
Despite having 56 per cent of possession and territory, Connacht did not have wherewithal to break down an excellent Cardiff defence in a low-scoring battle between the two mid-table sides.
The visitors were first off the mark with an early penalty from Cathal Forde when Cardiff strayed offside, but it proved short-lived. Camped on the Connacht line, Cardiff made little headway through the pack, but a clever kick-pass from Sheedy found Tom Bowen, who had an easy run-in to score, with Sheedy adding the extras.
The hosts remained in control as the western province racked up penalties, but strong defence from Sean Jansen and Joe Joyce kept Cardiff at bay from a tap-and-go, before Connacht created their best scoring opportunity just before the break.
Jack Carty’s kick behind found Chay Mullins only for Ben Murphy, without support, conceded a penalty for holding on, their ninth of the half.
Having dominated territory, possession, and clean breaks, Cardiff went into the break 7-3 to the good.
Connacht’s woes followed them into the second half, losing two lineouts in succession before a solid scoring opportunity was extinguished by brilliant defence from Cardiff.
As the game meandered on, becoming increasingly defence-focused, Connacht again spurned a perfect scoring opportunity after a well-worked backline move broke down.
Crucially, in the 70th minute, Connacht created another scoring chance, opting to maul from a penalty touch before Devine went blind and fed Finn Treacy. With three men to beat, Treacy was stymied from touching down when Sheedy knocked the ball out of his hand in the dive to score.
While Cardiff added another try through Bowen, Connacht eventually delivered the vital bonus point when O’Connor crossed for their first and only try of the night.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 11 mins: Forde pen 0-3; 14: Bowen try, Sheedy con 7-3; Half time 7-3; 76: Bowen try, Lloyd con 14-3; 82: O’Connor try 14-8
CARDIFF: C Winnett; J Beetham, H Millard, S Emanuel, T Bowen; C Sheedy, J Mulder; D Southworth, L Blecher (capt), K Assiratti; J McNally, T Williams; B Donnell, D Thomas, A Lawrence.
Replacements: G Nott for Williams (33 mins), R Barratt for Southworth, J Sebastian for Assiratti (both 52), D Hughes for Belcher (60), T Basham for Thomas (65), A Davies for Mulder (66), I Lloyd for Sheedy (70), Mulder for Emanuel (74), O Darwin-Lewis for Millard (78).
CONNACHT: S Naughton; C Mullins, D Hawkshaw, C Forde, S Bolton; J Carty, B Murphy; D Buckley, D Heffernan, J Aungier; D Murray, J Joyce; C Prendergast (capt), S O’Brien, S Jansen.
Replacements: J Duggan for Buckley (35 mins), F Treacy for Bolton (45-51), S Hurley-Langton for O’Brien, H Gavin for Hawkshaw (both 51), S Illo for Aungier, Bolton for Tracy (both 54), D O’Connor for Joyce (54), E de Buitlear for Heffernan (56), M Devine for Murphy (69), Tracy for Carthy (61).
Referee: G Gnecchi (ITA).
