CONNACHT, DOWN TO 14 men for almost three-quarters of the game, fell to a demoralising defeat to the Bulls at Dexcom Stadium.
The Bulls also finished with 14 but they were out of sight by the time they lost a man.
The Bulls got on top from the start on a wet evening in Galway and they dominated the opening quarter with 85% possession as Connacht just could not get their hands on the ball.
Connacht managed to limit the damage to 7-0 in that period after scrum-half Embrose Papier put Sebastian de Klerk over in the left corner.
Connacht suffered a major blow after 22 minutes when No.8 Sean Jansen was red-carded for an elbow to the head of Bulls captain Marcel Coetzee as he moved in to tackle the South African.
Advertisement
Bulls built a 14-0 interval lead when a good turnover from Cameron Hanekom in midfield ended with scrum-half Papier scoring under the posts after he chased and collected Moodie’s neat chip.
Connacht needed a good start to the second-half but it was the Bulls who extended their lead when Kriel broke down the left, got away from O’Conor to get past full-back Shane Jennings to score in the corner. Goosen, playing his first game of the campaign, added another brilliant conversion to make it 21-0.
It got worse for Connacht after 55 minutes when Moodie picked off a pass from Jack Carty and sprinted over 60 metres to score and secure the bonus point, with Goosen again converting.
The Bulls were reduced to 14 men as well three minutes later when No.8 Celimpilo ka Gumede was guilty of hands to the eye area after he retaliated when David Hawkshaw held him back at the side of ruck but Connacht failed to build anything from the penalty to the right corner.
But they finally got off the mark when Jennings and replacement tighthead Sam Illo made ground inside the 22 and Hawkshaw finished beside the posts, with Forde converting to make it 28-7.
Dylan Tierney-Martin, Jennings and O’Conor combined to send replacement scrum-half Caolin Blade away for a try down the left which Forde converted to cut the gap to 14 with five minutes left but they never looked like salvaging a bonus point.
Scorers for Connacht
Tries: Hawkshaw, Blade.
Cons: Forde (2)
Scorers for Bulls
Tries: De Klerk, Papier, Kriel, Moodie.
Cons: Goosen (4)
Connacht: Shane Jennings, Shayne Bolton, Piers O’Conor, Cathal Forde (David Hawkshaw 30-40), Santiago Cordero (Paul Boyle 24), Jack Carty (Hawkshaw 56), Ben Murphy (Caolin Blade 52), Denis Buckley (Jordan Duggan 49), Dave Heffernan (Dylan Tierney-Martin 49), Jack Aungier (Sam Illo 49), Joe Joyce (c) (Darragh Murray 52), Niall Murray, Josh Murphy, Conor Oliver (Shamus Hurley-Langton 49), Sean Jansen.
Vodacom Bulls: Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Harold Vorster (Stedman Gans 62), Sebastian de Klerk (Aphiwe Dyantyi 62), Johan Goosen, Embrose Papier, Alulutho Tshakweni (Gerhard Steenekamp 41), Akker van der Merwe (Johan Grobbelaar 52), Francois Klopper (Mornay Smith 56), Ruan Vermaak, JF van Heerden, Marcel Coetzee (c) (Cameron Hanekom , Cobus Wiese, Celimpilo ka Gumede.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
33 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Connacht punished for early red card in home defeat to Bulls
Connacht 14-28 Vodacom Bulls
CONNACHT, DOWN TO 14 men for almost three-quarters of the game, fell to a demoralising defeat to the Bulls at Dexcom Stadium.
The Bulls also finished with 14 but they were out of sight by the time they lost a man.
The Bulls got on top from the start on a wet evening in Galway and they dominated the opening quarter with 85% possession as Connacht just could not get their hands on the ball.
Connacht managed to limit the damage to 7-0 in that period after scrum-half Embrose Papier put Sebastian de Klerk over in the left corner.
Connacht suffered a major blow after 22 minutes when No.8 Sean Jansen was red-carded for an elbow to the head of Bulls captain Marcel Coetzee as he moved in to tackle the South African.
Bulls built a 14-0 interval lead when a good turnover from Cameron Hanekom in midfield ended with scrum-half Papier scoring under the posts after he chased and collected Moodie’s neat chip.
Connacht needed a good start to the second-half but it was the Bulls who extended their lead when Kriel broke down the left, got away from O’Conor to get past full-back Shane Jennings to score in the corner. Goosen, playing his first game of the campaign, added another brilliant conversion to make it 21-0.
It got worse for Connacht after 55 minutes when Moodie picked off a pass from Jack Carty and sprinted over 60 metres to score and secure the bonus point, with Goosen again converting.
The Bulls were reduced to 14 men as well three minutes later when No.8 Celimpilo ka Gumede was guilty of hands to the eye area after he retaliated when David Hawkshaw held him back at the side of ruck but Connacht failed to build anything from the penalty to the right corner.
But they finally got off the mark when Jennings and replacement tighthead Sam Illo made ground inside the 22 and Hawkshaw finished beside the posts, with Forde converting to make it 28-7.
Dylan Tierney-Martin, Jennings and O’Conor combined to send replacement scrum-half Caolin Blade away for a try down the left which Forde converted to cut the gap to 14 with five minutes left but they never looked like salvaging a bonus point.
Scorers for Connacht
Scorers for Bulls
Connacht: Shane Jennings, Shayne Bolton, Piers O’Conor, Cathal Forde (David Hawkshaw 30-40), Santiago Cordero (Paul Boyle 24), Jack Carty (Hawkshaw 56), Ben Murphy (Caolin Blade 52), Denis Buckley (Jordan Duggan 49), Dave Heffernan (Dylan Tierney-Martin 49), Jack Aungier (Sam Illo 49), Joe Joyce (c) (Darragh Murray 52), Niall Murray, Josh Murphy, Conor Oliver (Shamus Hurley-Langton 49), Sean Jansen.
Vodacom Bulls: Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Harold Vorster (Stedman Gans 62), Sebastian de Klerk (Aphiwe Dyantyi 62), Johan Goosen, Embrose Papier, Alulutho Tshakweni (Gerhard Steenekamp 41), Akker van der Merwe (Johan Grobbelaar 52), Francois Klopper (Mornay Smith 56), Ruan Vermaak, JF van Heerden, Marcel Coetzee (c) (Cameron Hanekom , Cobus Wiese, Celimpilo ka Gumede.
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland).
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Connacht Rugby United Rugby Championship Vodacom Bulls